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A   SHORT    HISTORY   OF    COINS 
AND    CURRENCY 


SHORT    HISTORY 


COINS    AND 
CURRENCY 


WITH    125   ILLUSTRATIONS 


E.    P.    BUTTON    &    COMPANY 


31  WEST  TWENTY-THIRD  STREET 


Printed  in   Great  Britain 


PREFACE 

THIS  little  book  is  founded  on  an  Introductory 
Address  which  I  had  the  honour  of  delivering 
some  years  ago,  as  first  President  of  the  Institute 
of  Bankers.  It  was,  however,  almost  rewritten 
last  year  as  a  Lecture  delivered  at  the  London 
Institution. 

Mr  Magnus  has  done  me  the  honour  of  sug- 
gesting that  it  should  be  included  as  one  of  the 
volumes  in  the  Home  and  School  Library,  which 
he  is  editing  for  Mr  Murray. 

The  second  part  is  new.  It  deals  with  the 
weights  of  coins ;  the  standards  adopted ;  the 
means  taken  from  time  to  time  to  secure  a  satis- 
factory currency ;  and,  I  regret  to  add,  those 
also — perhaps  even  more  numerous — by  which 
Kings  and  Parliaments  have  attempted  to  secure 
a  temporary  and  dishonourable  advantage,  by 
debasing  the  standard  and  reducing  the  weight 
of  the  coins. 

In  this  respect  we  may  fairly  claim  that  our 
own  Sovereigns  and  Parliament  are  able  to  show 


5 


115763 


vi  PREFACE 

(with  a  few  exceptions)  an  unusually  honourable 
record. 

In  spite  of  all  that  has  been  written  on  the 
subject,  the  principles  on  which  our  currency  is 
based  are  very  little  understood. 

We  frequently  hear  Sir  Robert  Peel's  celebrated 
question,  "  What  is  a  Pound  ? "  put  forward  as  if 
it  were  some  abstruse  and  mysterious  conundrum, 
instead  of  having  been  long  ago  clearly  answered, 
and  determined  by  Act  of  Parliament. 

I  have  also  endeavoured  to  explain  in  simple 
language  the  law  which  regulates  the  issue  of 
Bank-Notes. 

I  have  to  thank  Sir  John  Evans,  Mr  Barclay 
Head,  and  Mr  Grueber  for  much  valuable  assist- 
ance. Mr  Grueber  has  also  been  so  very  kind 
as  to  look  through  the  proof-sheets. 

I  am  also  indebted  to  the  Governor  and  Court 
of  Directors  of  the  Bank  of  England  for  some 
interesting  particulars  bearing  on  the  Evolution 
of  the  Bank-Note  in  its  present  form. 


AVEBURY. 


HIGH  ELMS,  DOWN, 

KENT,  February  1902. 


CONTENTS 


PART  I 

CHAP.  PAGE 

I.      THE   ORIGIN   OF   MONEY  ...  I 

II.      THE   COINAGE   OF   BRITAIN  .  .  -42 


PART    II 

I.      WEIGHTS   OF  COINS       .                .  .89 

II.      BANK-NOTES  AND   BANKING    .  .                         IO2 

APPENDIX            .                .                .  .                .137 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


Chinese  Pu  Money       .....  5 

Chinese  Knife  Money  .....  7 

Later  Chinese  Knife  Money     .  .  .  .8 

Chinese  Cash    ......  9 

Lydia-Babylonic  Stater              .  .  .  .15 

Stater  of  Pheidon          .             .  .  .  .16 

Gold  Stater  of  Croesus               .  .  .  .17 

A  Daric              .             .             .  .  .  .17 

Stater  of  Sybaris            .             .  .  .  .19 

Stater  of  Athens            .             .  .  .  .20 

Stater  of  Cnossus           .             .  .  .  .20 

Tetradrachm  of  Selinus             .  .  .  .22 

Decadrachm  of  Syracuse           .  .  .  23 

Didrachm  of  Metapontum         .  .  .  .24 

Stater  of  Philip              .             .  .  .  .25 

Stater  of  Alexander       .             .  .  .  .26 

Tetradrachm  of  Lysimachus     .  .  .  .27 

Tetradrachm  of  Tyre    .             .  .  .  .27 

Romano-Campanian  Didrachm  .  .  .28 
Denarius             ......         29 

Julius  Caesar  Denarius              .  .  .  .30 

M.  Junius  Brutus           .              .  .  .  .31 

Denarius  of  Cleopatra  .              .  .  .  .         31 

Denarius  of  Augustus   .              .  .  .  .32 

Denarius  of  Augustus   .              .  .  .  -33 

Denarius  of  Tiberius     .             .  .  .  .34 

Lepton  of  Pontius  Pilate           .  .  .  -35 
9 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


FIGS. 

55-56  Sestertius  of  Vespasian 

57-58  Sestertius  of  Antoninus  Pius 

59-60  Aureus  of  Marcus  Aurelius  . 

61-62  Shekel  . 

63-64  Tetradrachm  of  Simon  Barcochab 

65-66  Dirhem  of  Haroun  al  Raschid 

67-68  Ancient  British  Stater 

69-70  Ancient  British  Stater 

71-72  Ancient  British  Stater 

73-74  Coin  of  Tincommius 

75-76  Stater  of  Cunobeline 

77-78  Anglo-Saxon  Sceat    . 

79-80  Penny  of  Offa 

81-82  Penny  of  Alfred 

83-84  Penny  of  Plegmund  . 

85-86  Penny  of  Canute 

87-88  Penny  of  Edward  the  Confessor 

89-90  Penny  of  William  the  Conqueror 

91-92  Angel  of  Edward  IV. 

93-94  Rose  Noble  of  Edward  IV.  . 

95-96  The  First  Shilling     . 

97-98  The  First  Sovereign 

99-100  Shilling  of  Henry  VIII. 

101-102  Groat  of  Henry  VIII. 

103-104  Shilling  of  Edward  VI. 

105-106  Half-Crown  of  Edward  VI.  . 

107-108  Shilling  of  Philip  and  Mary 

109-110  Crown  of  Elizabeth   . 

HI-II2  Unite  of  Charles  I.   . 

113-114  Half-Crown  of  Cromwell 

115-116  Guinea  of  Charles  II. 

117-118  Rupee 

119-120  Ryal  of  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots 

1 21-122  James  II.,  Gunmoney 

123-124  Irish  Halfpenny 

125  Exchequer  .Tally 


PAGE 

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37 
38 
38 
39 
40 

44 
44 
45 
46 

47 
48 

50 
5i 
52 
53 
54 
56 
61 
62 
62 
63 
64 
65 
66 

67 
68 
69 


73 
77 
85 
86 

87 
127 


A    SHORT    HISTORY  OF  COINS 
AND  CURRENCY 

PART  I 
CHAPTER  I 

THE   ORIGIN    OF   MONEY 

£s« 

IN  early  times  the  exchange  of  commodities  was 
carried  on  by  barter.  Homer,  in  the  seventh  book 
of  the  Iliad,  mentions  that  when 

From  Lemnos  Isle  a  numerous  fleet  had  come, 

Freighted  with  wine  .  .  . 

All  the  other  Greeks 

Hastened  to  purchase,  some  with  brass,  and  some 

With  gleaming  iron  ;  some  with  hides,  cattle,  or  slaves. 

Barter,  however,(  was  a    slow  and  cumbersome 

process.     It   was   open   to    two   great   objections. 

[  Those  who  wished   to    buy   might   have   nothing 

which   those   who    wished    to    sell  cared    to    take. 

in    exchange ;     and    secondly,   it    would    require 

A 


2  THE  ORIGIN  OF  MONEY 

much  time   and   haggling   to   decide   the  relative 
values  of  the  different  articles. 

Hence  it  was  gradually  found  that  trade 
would  be  greatly  facilitated  by  fixing  on  some 
object  or  objects  which  might  be  used  as  standards 
of  value,  and  might  be  accepted,  not  for  use, 
but  to  be  again  exchanged. 

In  countries  where  there  were  no  true  coins 
various  other  things  have  served  as  a  standard  of 
value.  In  the  Hudson's  Bay  Territory  beavers' 
skins  have  long  been  used  in  this  manner.  In 
ancient  Europe  pattlfy  were  the  usual  medium  of 
exchange,  whence  the  Latin  word  pecunia  (money, 
from  pecus,  cattle).  In  our  own  language  the 
word  "cattle,"  or  "chattel,"  came  to  include  all 
property.  In  the  Zend-Avesta  the  payment  of 
physicians  is  calculated  in  the  same  way,  but 
comparatively  few  realise  that  when  we  pay 
our  Doctor  his  fee  we  are  doing  the  same 


thing,  for  our  word  "Jhe^  is  the  old  word  vieh, 
which  in  German  still  retains  the  sense  of 
cattle, 

Homer*  laughs  at  the  folly  of  Glaucus,  who 
exchanged  his  golden  armour,  worth  one  hun- 
dred oxen,  for  the  bronze  armour  .of  Diomede, 
worth  only  nine  oxen.  In  Iliad  xxiii.  703, 
Achilles  offers  as  a  prize  to  the  conqueror  in 
*  Iliad  vi.  234, 


BARTER  3 

the  funeral  games  in  honour  of  Patroclus,  a  large 
tripod  which  the  Greeks  valued  among  them- 
selves at  twelve  oxen  ;  and  offers  to  the  loser  a 
female  slave  valued  at  four  oxen. 

In  Africa  and  the  East  Indies  shells  _are,  and 
long  have  been,  used  for  the  same  purpose.  We 
even  find  indications  that  shells-  once  served 
as  money  in  China,  for  as  M.  Biot,  in  his 
interesting  memoir  on  Chinese  Currency,  has 
pointed  out,  the  words  denoting  purchase  and 
sale,  riches,  goods,  stores,  property,  prices,  cheap, 
dear,  and  many  others  referring  to  money  and 
wealth,  contain  the  ideographic  sign  denoting 
the  word  "shell."  Indeed,  Wangmang,  who 
usurped  the  Imperial  throne  about  14  A.D.,  wish- 
ing to  return  to  the  ancient  state  of  things, 
attempted,  among  other  changes,  to  bring  into 
circulation  five  different  varieties  of  shells  of  an 
arbitrary  value. 

On  the  whole,  however,  pieces  of  jrieial  were 
found  most  convenient  for  the  purpose.  They 
were  easily  carried,  easily  identified,  and  easily 
divided ;  they  did  not  decay,  and  could  easily 
be  weighed.  Hence  names  for  weights  often 
passed  into  names  for  coins — the^  shekel,  the 
livre,  the  lire,  the  pound,  and  so  ony 

The  origin  of  money  was  well  described  by 
Aristotle.  "  It  became  necessary,"  he  says,  "  to 


4  THE  ORIGIN  OF  MONEY 

think  of  certain  commodities,  easily  manageable, 
safely  transportable,  and  of  which  the  uses 
are  so  general  and  so  numerous,  that  they,  in- 
sured the  certainty  of  always  obtaining  for  them 
the  articles  wanted  in  exchange.  The  metals, 
particularly  iron  and  silver  and  several  others, 
exactly  correspond  to  this  description.  They 
were  employed,  therefore,  by  general  agreement 
as  the  ordinary  standard  of  value  and  the  com- 
mon measure  of  exchange,  being  themselves  ^ 
estimated  at  first  by  their  bulk  and  weight,  and 
afterwards  stamped,  in  order  to  save  the  trouble 
of  measuring  and  weighing  them/^ 

Gold,  silver,  and  copper  are  the  metals  which 
have  been  generally  used  as  money,  vlron,  indeed, 
is  said  to  have  been  used  in  Sparta,  under  the 
laws  of  Lycurgus ;  but,  in  this  case,  there  is  no 
reason  to  suppose  that  it  was  ever  coined.  It 
was  also  used,  according  to  Caesar,  amongst  the 
ancient  Britons,  in  the  form  of  bars.  Pollux 
mentions  that  the  inhabitants  of  Byzantium,  in. 
ancient  times,  used  iron  for  coins  instead  of 
copper,  and  so  have  the  Japanese ;  but,  on  the  . 
whole,  this  metal  is  too  heavy  in  proportion  to  / 
its  value. 

LCoTns  of  tin  are  reported  to  have  been  struck  by 
Dibnysius  of  Syracuse,  and  subsequently  in  Gaul, 
during  the  reigns  of  Septimus  Severus  and  Cara- 


CHINESE  SHIRT  MONEY  5 

calla,  but  they  appear  to  have  been  almost  immedi- 
ately abandoned  again.  Cast  coins  of  this  metal 
wej;e  in  use  among  the  ancient  Britons.f 
C  Platinum  was  tried  in  Russia,  but  was  found 
unsuitable  ;  lead  is  still  used  in  Burmah  ;  nickel 
in  Belgium,  the  United  States,  and  Germany; 
and  since  1869  we  have  struck  some  nickel  pence 
and  halfpence  for  Jamaica^J 

The  similarity,  however,  of  such  corns  to  those 
of    silver    constitutes     a     serious     inconvenience. 
is  also  said  by  some  to  have  been   at  one 


FlGS.  1-2. — Early  Chinese  Pu  money,  B.C.  700.     (Natural  size.) 

time  used  for  subsidiary  coinage  in  Egypt  and 
in  Sicily^  It  is  probable,  however,  that  these 
objects  were  merely  coin  weights. 


6  THE  ORIGIN  OF  MONEY 

y  A  curious  illustration  of  the  passage  from  a 
*  state  of  barter  to  the  use  of  money  occurred  in 
China.*  Knives  and  pieces  of  cloth  had  long 
been  used  as  in  some  measure  a  standard  of 
value,  almost  as  grey  shirting  is  in  India  even 
now.  About  the  twelfth  century  B.C.  it  occurred 
to  the  Chinese  government  that  for  purposes  of  ex- 
change it  would  be  an  advantage  to  substitute  for 
various  objects  in  common  use,  such  as  knives, 
pieces  of  cloth,  hoes,  sickles,  spades,  etc.,  etc., 
^small  metal  models  which  might  represent  the 
objects  themselves.  This  they  did,  and  there  are 
two  principal  kinds  of  coins — the  "  pu "  coins, 
roughly  resembling  a  shirt  (Figs.  1-2),  and  the 
"  tao "  or  knife  coins  (Figs.  3-4),  which  are  in 
the  form  of  a  knife.  The  word  "pu"  means 
cloth,  and  "  tao "  a  knife.  The  specimen  repre- 
sented in  Figs.  1-2  is  probably  of  about  700  B.C., 
but  the  dates  of  early  Chinese  coins  are  some- 
what uncertain.  Figs.  3-4  represent  a  "  knife " 
coin.  These  are  also  of  very  early  date.  The 
one  figured  is  referred  to  the  Tchou  Dynasty 
about  B.C.  300.  On  the  obverse  is  "Currency 
of  Tsi-moh  City,"  and  on  the  reverse  "  Three 
ten  Star."  But  those  forms  were  of  course  very 
inconvenient,  and  the  blade  was  gradually  short- 
ened (Figs.  5-6),  while  the  end  of  the  handle, 
*  Terrien  de  Lacouperie.  Catalogue  of  Chinese  Coins. 


CHINESE  KNIFE  MONEY 


FlGS.  3-4. — Chinese  Knife  money  ;  length,  7  in. 
weight,  740  grs. 


;8  THE  ORIGIN  OF  MONEY 

which  was  pierced  by  a  hole,  so  that  the  coins 
might  be  strung  on  a  cord,  was  enlarged.  The 
inscription  is  "  Yh  tao  ping  wutsun,"  i.e.,  One  tao 
equal  to  5000  (cash). 


FIGS.  5-6. — Later  Chinese  Knife  money,  7-22  A.D.  ; 
weight,  505  grs* 

Finally  the  blade  disappeared,  and  the  circular 
end  of  the  handle  alone  remained,  with  the  hole 
in  the  middle,  for,  as  the  Chinese  said,  money 


ORIGIN  OF  CASH  9 

which   is   meant  tcT  roll   round   the   world    should 

itself  be    round.     This  change   took    place  about 

VgQQ  B.C.,  and  thus  originated  the  form  still  in  use 

and  known  as  "  Cash."  *     The  coin  bears  a  mark 


FlGS.  7-8. — Chinese  Cash,  680  A.D.  ;  weight,  59  grs. 
(Natural  size.) 

like  a  new  moon.  This  originated  in  an  accident 
very  characteristic  of  China.  In  the  time  of  the 
Empress  Wente'k,  620  A.D.,  a  model  in  wax  of 
a  proposed  coin  was  brought  for  Her  Majesty's 
inspection.  In  taking  hold  of  it  she  left  on  it  the 
impression  of  her  thumb-nail,  and  the  impression 
has  in  consequence  not  only  been  a  marked 
characteristic  of  Chinese  coins  for  hundreds  of 
years,  but  has  even  been  copied  on  those  of 
Japan  and  Corea.  Even  now  the  Chinese  have 
no  coins  of  gold  or  silver,  but  only  of  bronze. 

*  Round  coins  seem  to  have  been  used  somewhat  earlier 
in  certain  provinces,  but  the  origin  of  the  "  cash,"  and  the 
general  use  of  round  coin,  seem  to  be  that  given  above. 


10  THE  ORIGIN  OF  MONEY 


11. 

r, 


i  \j\ 
1     en 


/h 

Li' 


Silver    indeed    they    use,    but    only   as    uncoined 
metal,  passing  by  weight. 

The  Persians  also  used  at  one  time  scimitar- 
shaped  pieces  of  metal  as  money.  In  the  West, 
however,  the  earliest  money  was  more  or  less 
rounded. 

Money  seems  to  us  now  so  obvious  a  conveni- 
ence, and  so  much,  I  might  almost  say,  a  necessity 
of  commerce,  that  it  appears  almost  inconceivable 
that  those  who  erected  the  Pyramids  and  sculp- 
tured the  Sphinx,  who  built  the  temples  of  Ipsam- 
boul  and  Karnac,  of  Babylon  and  Nineveh,  should 
have  been  ignorant  of  coins.  Yet  it  appears  certain 
that  this  was  the  case. 

As  regards  the  commercial  and  banking  systems 
of  ancient  Egypt  and  Assyria,  we  are  almost 
entirely  without  information.  The  standard  of 
value  in  Egypt  seems  to  have  been  the  "outen  " 
or  "  ten  "  of  copper  (94-96  grammes),  which  were 
in  the  form  of  bricks,  and,  like  the  Aesrude  of  the 
Romans,  were  estimated  by  weight.  The  copper 
was  obtained  from  the  mines  of  Mount  Sinai, 
which  were  worked  by  King  Dzezer  of  the 
Third  Dynasty  as  early  as  4000  B.C.  Gold  and 
silver  appear  to  have  been  also  used,  though  less 
frequently ;  like  copper,  they  were  sometimes  in 
the  form  of  bricks,  but  generally  in  rings,  resem- 
bling the  ring  money  of  the  ancient  Celts,  which  is 


MONEY  AND  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT      11 

said  to  have  been  employed  in  Ireland  down  to 
the  twelfth  century,  and  still  holds  its  own  in  the 
interior  of  Africa.  This  approximated  very  nearly 
to  the  character  of  money,  but  it  wanted  what  the 
Roman  lawyers  called  "  the  law  "  and  "  the  form." 
Neither  the  weight  nor  the  pureness  was  guaran- 
teed by  any  public  authority. 

I  have  often  wondered  how  they  got  on  without 
cojnSjjmdeyen  without  bankers.  Such  a  state  of 
things  must  have  been  very  inconvenient. 

n  ancient  Babylonia  and  Assyria,  as  in  Egypt, 
the  precious  metals,  and  especially  silver,  circulated 
as  uncoined  ingots.  They  were  readily  taken, 
indeed,  but  taken  by  weight  and  verified  by  the 
balance  like  any  other  merchandise. 

There   are,   however,    several    passages    in    our 
/     translation    of  the    Old    Testament,  which  might 
lead    us   to   carry   back  the  use  of  coin    too   far. 
\.    Thus    in    the    I7th    chapter    of  Genesis,    in    our 
version,  we   find  among  the  commands   given  to 
Abraham,   "  He  that  is   eight   days   old    shall  be 
circumcised  ...  he  that  is  born  in  the  house,  and 
bought  with  money  of  any  stranger."     The  word 
here  translated  "  money  "  is  in  the  original  keseph  ; 
in   the    Septuagint    it    is   correctly   rendered    by 
v    apyvpiovy  and  in  the  Vulgate  argentum  ;  in  fact,  it 
ihpuld  have  been  translated  "  silver,"  not  "  money." 
Again,  in  Genesis  xx.  16,  we  are  told,  "  And  unto 


12  THE  ORIGIN  OF  MONEY 

Sarah  he  said,  Behold  I  have  given  thy  brother  a 
thousand  pieces  of  silver."  The  same  expression 
is  repeated  in  chap,  xxxvli.  28.  Here  the  word 
"pieces"  suggests  money,  but  probably  it  only 
meant  pieces  of  a  certain  weight.  The  same 
observation  applies  to  the  statement  in  chap,  xxiii., 
where  Abraham  bought  the  cave  of  Machpelah  as 
a  burial  place  for  Sarah,  and  he  "weighed  to 
Ephron  the  silver,  four  hundred  shekels  of  silver, 
current  money  with  the  merchants."  Here  it  will  be 
observed  that  the  word  money  is  in  italics,  imply- 
ing that  it  is  not  in  the  original.  It  is  obvious 
that  silver  was  used  by  weight,  the  word  "  shekel  " 
meaning  originally  a  weight,  like  our  pound,  and 
afterwards,  like  the  pound,  being  used  for  a  coin. 
f  The  word  "  money,"  indeed,  primarily  implies 
coin.  It  is  said  to  take  its  origin  from  the  fact 
that  the  Early  Roman  coins  were  struck  in,  or  near, 
the  Temple  of  Juno  Mooeta.  Juno  received  this 
name,  according  to  Cicero,  from  the  verb  moneo, 
because  she  advised  the"  Romans  to  sacrifice  a  sow 
to  Cybele  to  avert  an  earthquake. .  Suidas,  how- 
ever, derives  it  from  the  encouraging  advice  she 
gave  them  in  their  war  against  Pyrrhus. 
/^Neither  of  these  derivations  seems  very  satis- 
factory. '  But,  however  Juno  acquired  the  name  of 
Moneta,  it  is  evident  that  the  name  of  Moneta  was 
given  to  money  because  it  was  struck  in,  or 


ORIGIN  OF  COINS  13 

near,   her   temple,   and    hence    that    it   primarily 
implies    "coin,"    and  that  wealth    is    a    secondary    / 
meaning. 

Before  the  invention  of  true  coins,,  bars  of  silver 
appear  to  have  been  used  in  the  form  of  spits 
or  skewers,,  six  of  which  were  termed  a  "  drachma," 
literally  a  handful,  wrhich  then  came  afterwards  to 
be  used  as  a  name  for  a  coin. 

The  earliest  Western  coinage  was  either  that  of"^\ 
Lydia,  or  of  Pheidon,  struck  in  ^Egina.    The  claims 
of  Pheidon,  King  of   Argos,    to    have   made  this 
useful  invention  rest  on  a  passage  in  the  Parian 
marble.      It  is    not,  however,   very   clear,,  and    if 
Pheidon    made    this    invention,   we    should    have 
expected  his  coins  to  have  been  struck  in  his  own      / 
city  of  Argos,  and  not  at  ^Egina. 

We  may  then,  I  think,  probably  accept  the 
distinct  statement  of  Herodotus  *  that,  under 
the  illustrious  dynasty  of  the  Mermnadse,  the 
"  Lydians  were  the  first  of  all  nations  we  know 
of"  [observe  the  caution  of  the  great  father  of 
history]  "  that  introduced  the.  act  of  coining  gold 
and  silver." 

In  ancient  Greece,  as  now,  the  right  of  coinage 
was  prerogative  of  the  sovereign.  And  here  we 
find  a  curious  difference  between  the  Bao-fAeJ?  and 
The  former  coined  in  his  own  name, 
*  Book  I.,  par.  94. 


14  THE  ORIGIN  OF  MONEY 

but  the  Tvpawoi,  however  absolute,  never  did  so.* 
Their  money  was  issued  in  the  name  of  the  people. 

It  would  seem  that  the  mode  of  coining  was 
by  placing  the  piece  of  heated  metal  on  an  anvil, 
then  putting  the  die  upon  it,  and  striking  the 
upper  side  of  the  die  with  a  hammer. 

Ancient  coining  implements,  though  very 
rare,  have  occasionally  been  discovered.  Sir  John 
Evans  has  described  one  found  at  Avenches 
in  Switzerland.  "This  die,"  he  says,  "which 
was  intended  for  striking  the  obverse  of  one 
of  the  Helvetian  degenerate  imitations  of  the 
stater  of  Philip  (Figs.  29-30),  consists  of  a  disc 
of  bronze  inlaid  in  a  cylindric  block  of  iron. 
The  surface  of  the  die  is  concave,  so  as  to 
produce  the  convexity  of  surface  so  common 
among  the  coins  of  this  class,  and  one  reason 
for  this  concavity  of  the  die  appears  to  have 
been  that  the  coins  were  struck  from  nearly 
spherical  pieces  of  metal,  which  were  heated  and 
prevented  from  rolling  in  their  place  by  the 
concavity  of  the  die." 

The  simplicity  and  portability  of  this  apparatus,  / 
and  the  fact  that  the  coins  were  hand-made,  \ 
accounts  for  the  number  of  mints  and  moneyers  ~A_ 
under  our  early  kings,  and  this  primitive  process 

*  With  one  or  two  exceptions,  such  as  Alexander  of  Pheras, 
and  Dionysius  of  Heracleia. 


THE  EARLIEST  COINS  15 

continued  in  use  until  the   invention  of  the  mill 
and  the  screw  in  1561.    The  new  method  was  not, 
however,  at  first  supposed  to  work  well,,  and  was      / 
given  up  until  1662,  when  it  was  finally  adopted.      ^ 

In  this  short  history  it  is,  of  course,  impossible 
to  mention  more  than  a  few  of  the  more  interest- 
ing coins  ;  even  in  the  case  of  our  English  series, 
on  which  I  propose  to  dwell  rather  more  in 
detail.  The  number  and  variety  of  coins  is 
indeed  immense ;  in  a  single  reign,  that  of 
Elizabeth,  there  were  no  less  than  20  denom- 
inations of  money  —  some  of  them  of  scarce 
types. 

I  will  now  proceed  to  the  coins  themselves. 
The  earliest  coins  we  have  (Figs.  9-10)  are 
Lydian,  and  oval  in  form.  They  are  perhaps 


-L. 


FlGS.  9-10. — Lydia-Babylonic  Stater,  dr.  B.C.  700  ;  electrum  ; 
weight,  167  grs. 

stamped  ingots  rather  than  true  coins,'rfor  one 
side  presents  merely  a  striated  surface.  The 
reverse  presents  three  incuse  depressions,  the 


16  THE  ORIGIN  OF  MONEY 

two  outer  ones  square,  the  one  in  the  centre 
oblong,  and  enclosing  some  animal  or  other 
ornament.  They  consist  of  electrum,  a  mixture 
of  gold  and .  silver,  and  were  probably  struck 
about  B.c:  700,  in  the  reign  of  Gyges. 

They    were    known    as    staters,   from    a    Greek 
word  signifying  "  standard,"  and  the  legal  weight 


FlGS.  11-12.- — Stater  of  Pheidon,  King  of  Argos  and  ^Egina, 
dr.  B.C.  700  ;  silver  ;  weight,  194  grs. 

was  about  167  grains,  or  220  grains,  depending 
on  whether  the  Babylon ic  or  Phoenician  standard 
was  used. 

The  coins  of  Pheidon,  King  of  Argos  (Figs. 
11-12),  are  little,  if  at  all,  later..  They  are  of 
silver,  were  struck  in  /Egina,  and  are  irregular  in 
form,  with  a  tortoise,  the  symbol  of  Astarte,  the 
Phoenician  goddess  of  trade,  on  one  side,  and  on 
the  other  merely  an  incuse  square  made  by  the 
upper  of  the  two  dies,  between  which  the  "-flan," 
or  plain  piece  of  metal,  was  placed.  The  coinage 


* 


PERSIAN  COINS  17 

consisted  of  the  obol,  3  obol  piece,  6  obols  or 
drachma,  and  double  drachma.  The  drachma 
originally  weighed  93  grains,  but  was  gradually 
reduced  to  66. 

Figs.  13-14  represent  a  gold  stater  of  Croesus, 


FlGS.   13-14.  — Gold  Stater  of  Croesus  ;  weight,  124  grs. 

King  of  Lydia,  B.C.  568-554,  celebrated  for  his 
wealth.  The  obverse  represents  the  fore-parts  of 
a  lion  and  a  bull,  face  to  face.  The  reverse  is 
simply  two  incuse  squares. 


FlGS.  15-16. — A  Daricj  gold;  weight,  130  grs. 

The  next  illustration  (Figs.  15-16)  is  a  Persian 
"  Dark."  The  name  is  derived  from  dara,  a  king. 
It  is  a  coin  of  Darius  (B.C.  521-485),  and  repn(|sents 
the  great  king  holding  a  bow  and  arrow.  The 

B 


18  THE  ORIGIN  OF  MONEY 

daric  weighed  :  about  1 30  grains.  The  word 
"daric"  is  unfortunately  rendered  a  "drachma" 
in  our  translation  of  the  Old  Testament* 

The  earliest  known  inscribed  coin  is  a  Phoeni- 
cian stater  of  Halicarnassus.  On  the  obverse 
is  $ai/o9  e/ou  2^/xa,  "  I  am  the  sign  of  Phanes," 
and  a  stag  feeding.  The  reverse  is  an  oblong 
sinking  between  two  square  sinkings.  There  has 
been  considerable  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the 
meaning  of  the  word  Phanes.  Some  have  regarded 
it  as  the  name  of  a  local  banker ;  others  that  it 
signifies  "  the  shining  one,"  a  name  for  Artemis ; 
others  that  it  refers  to  a  certain  Phanes  who  was 
a  high  official  of  Amasis,  King  of  Egypt,  but 
entered  into  the  service  of  Cambyses,  King  of 
Persia,  and  assisted  in  the  invasion  'of  Egypt  in 
B.C.  525.  The  coin,  however,  would  seem  to  be 
of  a  slightly  earlier  date. 

In  these  earliest  coins  it  will  be  observed  that 
one  side  is  left  plain,  or  bears  only  the  mark  of 
the  anvil  The  next  improvement  was  to  work 
the  head  of  the  die  into  the  form  of  some 
object  which  thus  appeared  in  concave  on  the 
coin.  Tne  oldest  coins  of  most  of  the  Greek 
cities  of  southern  Italy  are '  remarkable  for  hav- 
ing the  type  of  the  obverse  side  repeated  in '  an 
incuse,  or  sunk  form,  on  the  reverse. 
*  Nehemiah  vii.  70. 


COINS  OF  ATHENS  19 

Figs.  17-18  are  a  stater  of  the  celebrated  city 
Sybaris,  dr.  B.C.  550,  showing  on  both  sides  the 
figure  of  a  bull,  with  the  head  reverted,  and  the 
initial  letters  of  Sybaris,  2i/,  below.  This  style 


FlGS.  17-18. — Stater  of  Sybaris  ;  silver  ;  -weight,   126  grs. 

is  not  considered  to  have  lasted  after  B.C.  500. 
Sybaris  itself  was  destroyed  by  Croton  in  510. 

It  is  evident,  however,  that  if  two  dies  are  to 
be  made,  it  is  useless  to  repeat  the  same  design, 
and  that  the  second  surface  may  be  better 
utilised.  Athens  seems  to  have  been  the  first 
to  realise  this. 

Figs.  19-20  illustrate  the  typical  coinage  of 
Athens  about  B.C,  500,  with  the  head  of  Athene  on 
one  side,  and  the  owl  and  an  olive  spray,  the 
emblems  of  Athens,  on  the  other.  The  Athenian 
coinage  is  singularly  rude ;  it  is  supposed  that 
these  coins  became  known  throughout  the  Greek 


20 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  MONEY 


islands,  and    that   it   was   considered  unadvisable 
to  change  the  type  lest  the  circulation  should  be 


FlJS.  19-20. — Stater  of  Athens  ;  silver;  weight,  265  grs. 

affected.  In  these  archaic  coins  the  eye  is 
always  drawn  as  if  seen  from  the  front,  even 
when  the  face  is  in  profile. 


FIGS.  21-22.— Stater  of  Cnossus  ;  silver;  B.C.  480-450; 
weight,  176  grs. 

Lord  Liverpool  long  ago  said  of  the 'Athenian 
coinage  that  it  was  a  case  in  which  "  the  affecta- 


THE  MINOTAUR  AND  LABYRINTH         21 

tion  of  an  archaic  style  of  work  is  easily  distin- 
guished from  the  rudeness  of  remote  antiquity." 
In  later  times  the  same  happened  to  the  coinage 
of  Venice,  which  down  to  the  eighteenth  century 
retained  the  style  of  the  fourteenth. 

Many  of  the  early  Greek  coins  have  a  deep 
slit  across  them.  These  are  supposed  to  have 
been  made  by  the  Persians,  during  their  invasion 
of  Greece,  to  test  the  metal. 

The  coin  represented  in  Figs.  21-22  belonged  to 
Cnossus  in  Crete,  a  city  said  to  have  been  founded 
by  Minos.  It  bears  on  the  obverse  a  figure  of  the 
Minotaur,  in  human  form,  but  with  a  bull's  head, 
kneeling  and  holding  a  globe.  On  the  reverse 
is  the  famous  Labyrinth  which  was  built  for  the 
Minotaur  by  Daedalus.  Recent'  explorations 
carried  on  by  the  Cretan  Exploration  Committee, 
under  the  superintendence  of  Mr  Arthur  Evans, 
have  unearthed  a  considerable  part  of  the  western 
side  of  the  great  Palace,  including  two  large  courts, 
the  porticoes  and  entrance1  corridors,  a  vast  system 
of  magazines,  some  of  them  full  of  huge  stone 
jars,  a  bath  chamber,  a  central  court,  and  a  richly 
adorned  room,  where  between  lower  benches  rose 
a  curiously  carved  gypsum  throne,  on  which  King 
Minos  himself  may  have  sat  in  council.* 

The  city  of  Selinus  having  been  attacked  by 
*  Cretan  Exploration  Fund  Report,  November  1901. 


22  THE  ORIGIN  OF  MONEY 

a  pestilence  which  was  supposed  to  be  sent  by 
Apollo,  consulted  Asclepius  as  to  the  best  means 
of  averting  the  wrath  of  the  god.  He  advised  the 


FiGS.  23-24. — Tetradrachm  of  Selinus  ;  silver;  B.C.  466-415  ; 
weight,  269  grs. 

citizens  to  drain  a  pestiferous  marsh  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood, which  they  did,  and  thus  stopped  the 
plague.  The  grateful  inhabitants  struck  the  above 
coin,  Figs.  23-24,  in  his  honour.  On  the  obverse  is 
the  name  of  the  city,  2EAIN02 ;  a  young  river- 
god  sacrificing  at  an  altar,  before  which  is  a  cock, 
the  emblem  of  Asclepius.  In  the  left  hand  of 
Selinus  is  the  lustral  branch,  behind  him  a  leaf 
of  parsley  (Selinus)  and  a  bull.  On  the  reverse 
ZEAINONTION  (retrograde)  and  Apollo  dis- 
charging the  arrow  of  death. 

This  is  an  early  recognition  of  sanitation, 
and  might  well  be  taken  as  a  seal  for  the 
medical  profession. 


EUAINETUS  23 

We  now  come  to  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
coins  that  the  world  has  ever  seen.  Figs.  25-26 
represent  a  decadrachm  of  Syracuse,  B.C.  415-405. 
The  obverse  is  a  head  of  Persephone,  decked 
with  cornleaves,  and  surrounded  by  dolphins  ; 
the  reverse  a  quadriga,  and  Victory  flying  above 
is  about  to  crown  the  charioteer.  In  this  case  we 
know  the  artist  who  made  the  die — Euainetus.  His 
initials,  E  Y.,  appear  behind  the  neck  of  Persephone. 


FIGS.  25-26. — Decadrachm  of  Syracuse;  silver;   B.C.'  415-405    ; 
weight,  686  grs. 

Winckelmann,  speaking  of  this  coin,  said,  "  It 
transcends  all  imagining,  and  might  not  Raphael, 
who  complains  that  he  could  not  find  in  nature 
any  beauty  worthy  to  stand  for  Galatea,  have 
taken  her  likeness  from  the  best  Syracusan  coins, 
since  in  his  days — with  the  exception  of  the 


24  THE  ORIGIN  OF  MONEY 

Laocoon — the  finest  statues  were  not  yet  dis- 
covered? Beyond  these  coins  human  compre- 
hension cannot  go."  Poole  said  *  that  "  nothing 
more  delicately  finished  has  been  produced  by 
Greek  art  than  Euainetos'  Persephone."  Headf 
calls  it  uthe  chef  d'ceuvre  of  the  art  of  coin  engrav- 
ing"; and  Lenormant  J  describes  Euainetos  as  "the 
Phidias  of  coin  engraving." — "  Comme  precision 
et  science  du  modele,  il  est  incomparable ;  ses 
tetes  de  divinites  respirent  un  souffle  vraiment 
ideal  ;  il  sait  etre  riche  sans  tomber  dans  cette 
serie  d'ornements  et  de  details  qui  finit  par 
rapetisser  un  oeuvre  d'art." 

Figs.  27-28   also   represent   a  very  lovely  coin. 


FlGS.  27-28. — Didrachm  of  Metapontum  ;  silver;  B.C.  359-336; 
weight,   123  grs. 

It  was  struck  at  Metapontum,  a  town  of  Magna 

*  Greek  Coins  in  illustrating  Greek  Art,  Num.  Chr.  1864. 
f  History  of  Ancient  Art  ;    Historia   Numorum  ;    see  also 

A.  Evans'  Syracusan  Medallions. 
\  La  Monnaie  dans 


PHILIP  OF  MACEDON  25 

Graecia,  between  359  and  336  B.C.  The  obverse 
is  again  a  head  of  Persephone.  Metapontum 
was  the  centre  of  a  great  wheat-growing  district, 
and  its  emblem  was  an  ear  of  wheat,  which  Is 
shown  on  the  reverse,  with  the  inscription  META, 
for  Metapontum.  These  coins  have  generally 
some  other  object  associated  with  agriculture, 
such  as  a  plough,  or  a  locust.  In  this  case, 
which  is,  I  think,  one  of  the  prettiest,  there  is 
a  little  harvest  mouse  sitting  on  the  wheat 
leaf. 


FIGS.  29-30. — Stater  of  Philip  of  Macedon  ;  gold  ;  B.C.  359-336  ; 
weight,  133  grs. 

We  now  come  to  one  of  the  most  important 
and  interesting,  while  it  is  certainly  not  the  least 
beautiful,  of  Greek  coins— the  stater  of  Philip  of 
Macedon.  It  was  the  most  important  coin  of  the 
Mediterranean,  and  is  especially  interesting  to  us 
from  being,  as  we  shall  see,  the  foundation  of  our 
British  coinage.  The  obverse  bears  a  beautiful 
head  of  Apollo,  with  a  crown  of  laurel  leaves ; 


26  THE  ORIGIN  OF  MONEY 

the  reverse  a  charioteer  in  abiga  over  the  word 
$IAiniIOY.  Horace  justly  spoke  *  of  this  coin 
as  "regale  numisma  Philippi."  We  can  better 
understand  the  immense  coinage  issued  by  Philip, 
from  the  statement  that  tHe  gold  mines  of  Crenides 
yielded  him  1000  talents,  or  ,£3,000,000  a  year. 

Figs.  31-32  are  a  stater  of  Alexander  the  Great, 
B.C.  334.  On  the  obverse  is  a  head  of  Pallas  ;  on 
the  reverse  AAESANAPOY,  with  "Nike  (Victory) 
holding  a  wreath  and  trophy. 

Up  to  this  time  the  heads  placed  on  coins  were 


FlGS.  31-32. — Stater  of  Alexander  the  Great ;   gold  ;   B.C.  334  ; 
weight,  133  grs. 

those  of  deities.  I  have  chosen  the  next  illustra- 
tion, Figs.  33-34,  because  it  is  the  first  known  coin 
on  which  a  human  head  was  ever  placed.  It  was 
struck  by  Lysimachus,  one  of  Alexander's  generals 
and  afterwards  King  of  Thrace.  He  put  on  the 
obverse  the  head  of  Alexander,  but  being  afraid 
that  he  might  be  accused  of  blasphemy  for  his 
*  Ep.  II.  i.  232. 


ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT 


27 


innovation,  gave  the  head  a  ram's  horn,  to  indicate 
that  it  was  not  Alexander  the  Great  as  a  man,  but 


FlGS.   33-34. — Tetradrachm  of  Lysimachus,  B.C.  321-281  ; 
silver  ;  weight,   1 30  grs. 

Alexander   as   a   demigod — as   being   the    son    of 
Jupiter  Ammon. 

Figs.  3^-36  are  a  tetradrachm  of  Tyre,  B.C.  1 16. 


FIGS.  35-36. — Tyre  Tetradrachm  ^silver ;  B.C.  116; 
weight,  216  grs. 

The  obverse  is  the  head  of  the  Tyrian  Hercules  or 


28  THE  ORIGIN  OF  MONEY 

Baal ;  the  reverse;  an  eagle  on  a  rudder,  in  front 
of  which  is  a  club  and  the  letters  LI.,  i.e.,  year 
ten  =  116  B.C. 

Baal  is  represented  in  the  Old  Testament  as  an 
evil  being,  because  he  was  the  tutelary  deity  of  a 
people  often  at  war  with  the  Jews.  To  the  people 
of  Tyre  he  was  a  good  deity,  and  the  head  is 
certainly  a  very  fine  one. 

The  Romans  were  much  behind  the  Greeks  in 
the  matter  of  coinage.  For  purposes  of  exchange 
they  used  at  first  lumps  of  bronze  (ses  rude),  the 
value  of  which  was  estimated  by  weight.  The 
earliest  Roman  coins,  which  were  large  square, 
circular,  or  oblong  pieces,  date  from  about  the 
fourth  century.  These  were  cast  in  a  mould,  and 
bore  on  each  .side  a  design  in  high  relief.  No 
silver  money  was  struck  till  the  first  Punic  War  in 
B.C.  268. 

In  illustration  of  the  Early  Roman  coinage  I  give 


FlGS.  37-38. — Romano-Campanian  Didrachm,  dr.  B.C.  300 ; 
silver  ;  weight,  109  grs. 


EARLY  ROMAN  COINS  29 

This  coin  has  on  the  obverse  a  head  of  the 
young  Hercules  ;  on  the  reverse  "  Romano"  (rum), 
short  for  Romans,  with  the  wolf  and  twins  (Romulus 
and  Remus).  These  coins-  are  supposed  to  have 
been  issued  during  the  Samnite  wars,  under  the 
directions  of  the  Roman  generals,  for  the  use  of 
the  army.  The  true  Roman  silver  coinage  did  not 
commence  till  nearly  half  a  century  later. 

Figs.  39-40  give   one  of  the  first  types  of  true 


FlGS.  39-40. — Denarius;  silver;  6.0.269; 
weight,  66.7  grs. 

Roman  silver  coinage.  On  the  obverse  is  head  of 
Roma,  behind  which  is  the  sign  X  denoting  ten 
asses.  On  the  reverse  is  ROMA,  above  which  are 
the  Dioscuri  Castor  and  Pollux,  charging,  as  they 
appeared  at  the  battle  of  Lake  Regillus,  when 

"  Swift,  swift,  the  Great  Twin  Brethren. 
Came  spurring  from  the  East."  * 

The  denarius  Was  so  called  from  containing  ten 
*  Macaulay's  Lays  of  Ancient  Rome. 


30  THE  ORIGIN  OP  MONEY 

asses.  It  remained  a  principal  Roman  coin,  and 
the  official  money  of  account,  down  to  the  middle 
of  the  third  century  A.D.  It  is  the  origin  of  the 
French  name  Denier.  The  denarius  contained 
about  7^d.  of  our  money,  and  represented  the 
average  day's  pay  of  a  soldier  or  labourer,  as  in 
the  well-known  parable. 

Figs.  41-42  are  a  denarius  of  Julius  Caesar. 
On  the  obverse  is  "Caesar  Diet.  Perpetuo,",  with  a 
head  of  Julius  Caesar.  On  the  reverse,  "  L.  Buca," 
the  name  of  the  moneyer.  A  caduceus  and  fasces 
crossed,  a  globe,  two  hands  joined,  and  a  hatchet. 

If  we  except  some  early  pieces,  the  place  of 
mintage  of  which  is  doubtful,  the  first  Roman 


FIGS.  41-42. — Julius  Caesar.      Denarius  ;  silver  ;   B.C.  44  ; 
weight,  56  grs. 

gold   coins   were    those   of    Julius    Caesar.      They 
were  struck  in  B.C.  49. 

The  next   coin    (Figs.    43-44)   is  interesting   as 
giving   us   a   portrait  of  Junius  Brutus,  and   was 


CLEOPATRA  31 

struck  by  his  confederate  Casca,  the  envious  Casca, 
while    acting    Brutus'   lieutenant    in    Asia    Minor, 


FlG?.  43-44. — M.  Junius  Brutus  ;    silver;  weight,  123  grs. 

dr.  B.C.  43-42.  The  obverse  has  a  head  of  Brutus 
in  a  laurel  wreath,  and  the  inscription  "  Brutus 
Imp.,"  the  word  Imperator  then  only  meaning 
general ;  and  the  reverse  "  Casca  Longus,"  with  a 
trophy  between  the  prows  of  two  ships. 

Figs.  45-46  represent  the  coin  which  Cleopatra 


•    FlGS.  45-46. — Denarius  of  Cleopatra  ;   silver  ;         •    .  - 
weight,  55  grs. 

struck,  B.C.  33-32,  to  commemorate  her  marriage, 
if    so    it    could    be    called,    with    'Mark    Antony. 


32  THE  ORIGIN  OF  MONEY 

The  obverse  has  the  inscription,  "ANTONI 
ARMENIA  DEVICTA,"  with  a  head  of  Mark 
Antony,  and  behind  an  Armenian  tiara.  On 
the  reverse  is  "CLEOPATRA  REGIN^  REGUM 
FILIORUM  REGUM,"  and  below  a  ship's  prow. 
This  is  one  of  the  best  portraits  we  have  of  this 
celebrated  queen ;  as  she  struck  it  herself  we  may 
assume  that  it  was  not  unflattering,  but  though  it  is 


FIGS.  47-48. — Augustus.    Denarius,  B.C.   18  ;  silver; 
weight,  60  grs. 

a  bright  and  intelligent  face,  it  does  not  seem  to 
justify  her  reputation  for  beauty. 

Soon  after  Augustus  had  established  his  author- 
ity he  instituted  public  games  in  honour  of  Julius 
Caesar,  who  was,  as  we  are  informed  by  Suetonius, 
"  ranked  amongst  the  gods,  not  only  by  a  formal 
decree,  but  in  the  belief  of  the  vulgar.  For 
during  the  first  games  which  Augustus,  his  heir, 
consecrated  to  his  memory,  a  comet  blazed  for 
seven  days  together,  rising  always  about  eleven 
o'clock ;  and  it  was  supposed  to  be  the  soul  of 


CLESAR'S  GHOST  ON  A  COIN  33 

Caesar,  now  received  into  heaven."  Augustus 
struck  the  above  coin  (Figs.  47-48)  in  memory 
of  this  auspicious  event,  with  his  own  portrait 
and  name  on  one  side,  and  on  the  other  "  Divus 
Julius,"  with  Caesar's  ghost  in  the  form  of  a  comet. 
The  period  would  correspond  with  one  of 
the  former  appearances  of  Halley's  comet,  the 
second  before  the  one  observed  by  that  great 
astronomer. 

Figs.  49-50  is  another  denarius  of  Augustus;  on 
the  reverse  Augustus  and  Victory  are  represented 


FlGS.   49-50. — Augustus,     Denarius,   B.C.    17;    silver; 
weight,  59  grs. 

in  a  biga  of  elephants,  surmounting  a  triumphal 
arch  placed  on  a  bridge. 

Figs.  51-52  is  a  denarius  of  Tiberius,  i.e., 
Tiberius  Caesar,  son  of  the  Divine  Augustus 
Augustus.  On  the  obverse  is  "  TI.  CAESAR,  Divi 
Aug.  F.  Augustus,"  and  a  laureate  head  of  Tibe- 
rius. On  the  reverse,  "  PONTIF.  MAXIM,"  and  a 

C 


34  THE  ORIGIN  OF  MONEY 

figure   of  the    Empress    Livia   seated,    holding   a 
sceptre  and  branch. 


FlGS.  51-52. — Denarius  of  Tiberius,  the  Tribute  Penny  ;    silver  ; 
A.D.  16-37  ;  weight,  59  ors. 

This  is  known  as  the  Tribute  Penny,  being  the 
coin  referred  to  in  the  New  Testament  as  being 
asked  for  by  Jesus  when  the  Pharisees  "  took 
counsel  how  they  might  entangle  him  in  his  talk. 

"  And  they  sent  out  unto  him  their  disciples, 
with  the  Herodians,  saying,  Master,  we  know 
that  thou  art  true,  and  teachest  the  way  of  God 
in  truth,  neither  carest  thou  for  any  man  ;  for 
thou  regardest  not  the  person  of  men. 

uTell  us  therefore,  What  thinkest  thou?  Is  it 
lawful  to  give  tribute  unto  Caesar,  or  not  ? 

"  But  Jesus  perceived  their  wickedness,  and  said, 
•Why  tempt  ye  me,  ye  hypocrites  ? 

"  Shew  me  the  tribute  money.  ;  And  they  brought 
unto  him  a  penny. 

"  And  he  saith  unto  them,  Whose  is  this  image 
and  superscription  ? 


THE  TRIBUTE  PENNY  35 

"  They  say  unto  him,  Caesar's.  Then  saith  he 
unto  them,  Render  therefore  under  Caesar  the 
things  which  are  Caesar's ;  and  unto  God  the 
things  that  are  God's. 

"  When  they  had  heard  these  words,  they  mar- 
velled, and  left  him  and  went  their  way."* 

Figs.  53-54  represent  a  lepton  of  Pontius  Pilate, 
struck  in  the  year  of  the  Crucifixion  (A.D.  29-30). 
It  bears  on  the  obverse  the  name  of  Tiberius, 
and  a  "simpulum,"  which  was  an  object  used  in 
sacrifices ;  and  on  the  reverse  three  ears  of  corn 
bound  together.  The  "widow's  mite,"  two  of  which 


FIGS.  53~54- — Lepton  of  Pontius  Pilate  ;  copper  ;  weight,  31  grs. 

went  to  a  "  farthing,"  was  probably  one  of  these 
coins.  The  word  translated  " farthing"  is  sup- 
posed to  have  referred  to  a  bronze  coin  of 
Antioch,  and  the  "pieces  of  money"  for  which 
Christ  was  betrayed  are  supposed  to  have  been 
tetradrachms  of  Antioch.  The  "  penny,"  as  already 
mentioned,  was  the  denarius  (Figs.  51-52). 
*  St  Matthew,  xxii.  15. 


36  THE  ORIGIN  OF  MONEY 

Figs.  55-56  represent  a  coin  of  Vespasian,  struck 
in    A.D.   70   to   commemorate   the   subjugation    of 


FlGS.  55-56. — Vespasian.     Sestertius,  A.D.  70;  bronze; 
weight,  400  grs. 

Judaea.  On  th^  obverse  is  IMP.  CAES.  VES- 
PASIAN. AUG.  P.  M.  TR.  P.P.P.  COS.  III.,  with 
a  head  of  Vespasian  Laureate.  The  letters 
after  Vespasian  stand  for  Augustus,  Pontifex 
Maximus,  Tribunitia  Potestate  Pater  Patriae 
Consul  III.  (thrice  Consul). 

On  the  reverse  is  "Judea  Capta."  and  below, 
S.  C,  and  the  Empress  standing  near  a  palm 
tree,  at  the  foot  of  which  Judaea  is  seated  weep- 
ing. The  letters  S.  C.  stand  for  Senatus  Consulto, 
indicating  that  it  was  struck  by  order  of  the 
Senate,  who  had  authority  to  strike  bronze  coins, 
those  of  silver  and  gold  being  the  special  pre- 
rogative of  the  Emperors. 


ROMAN  EMPERORS  37 

Figs.  57-58  are  a  sestertius  struck  by  Antoninus 
Pius  (131-161  A.D.),  to  commemorate  his  success- 
ful campaign  in  Britain.  On  the  obverse  is  a 
head  of  the  Emperor,  laureate,  with  the  inscrip- 
tion, ''ANTONINUS  AUG.  PIUS,  P.P.  TR.  P.  COS.  III." 
On  the  reverse,  a  figure  of  Britannia  seated,  hold- 
ing a  standard  and  spear,  and  with  her  shield  at 
her  side  ;  and  with  the  inscription  u  Britannia." 

This  coin  is  interesting,  because  the  figure   of 


FJGS.    57-58. — Sestertius  of  Antoninus  Pius,  131-161  A.D.  ;  bronze; 
weight,  413  grs. 

Britannia  is  generally  considered,  and  is  indeed 
obviously  the  original  of  that  on  our  copper 
coinage,  though  it  does  not  appear  that  there  is 
any  actual  record  of  the  fact. 

The  next  is  an  aureus  of  his  adopted  son, 
Marcus  Aurelius,  a  great  emperor,  and  still 
greater  man — author  of  the  Meditations,  one  of  the 


38  THE  ORIGIN  OF  MONEY 

noblest   books    in    the    whole    of   literature.       On 
the    obverse    is    the    Emperor's    head,   with    the 


FlGS.   59-60. — Aureus  of  Marcus  Aurelius,  177  A. I).  ;  gold  ; 
weight,  112  grs. 

inscription,  "  M.  Antoninus  Aug.  Germ.  Sarm.," 
referring  to  campaigns  more  than  once  mentioned 
in  his  writings ;  and  on  the  reverse  a  pile  of 
German  arms  and  standards,  and  "  D.  Germ. 
TR/P.  XXXI.  Imp.  VIII  .  Cos.  III.  P.P." 

Before  coming  to  the  money  of  our  own  country 


FIGS.  61-62. — Shekel  ;   silver  ;  weight,  220  grs. 

I   will   give    one  or  two    illustrations  of   Eastern 
coins. 


JEWISH  COINS 


39 


Figs.  61-62  represent  a  Jewish  shekel.  It  used 
to  be  supposed  that  these  coins  were  struck  by 
Simon  Maccabaeus,  B.C.  141-135  ;  but  they  are 
now  referred  to  the  time  of  the  first  revolt  in 
the  reign  of  Nero,  66  A.D.  They  bear  on  one 
side  a  chalice  ornamented  with  jewels,  and  the 
inscription,  "Shekel  of  Israel,  year  3."  On  the 
other  a  flower  with  "Jerusalem  the  Holy"  in 
old  Hebrew  letters.  They  weigh  about  220  grains. 


FlGS.    63-64. — Tetradrachm  of  Simon  Barcochab,  133  A.D.  ;    silver  ; 
weight,  213  grs. 

Figs.  63  -  64  are  a  tetradrachm  of  Simon 
Barcochab,  struck  in  the  second  year  of  the 
second  revolt,  during  the  reign  of  Hadrian, 
133  A.D.,  which  I  have  selected  because  it  gives 
a  representation,  probably  somewhat  conven- 
tional, of  the  Beautiful  Gate  of  the  Temple, 
and  giving  a  glimpse  of  the  Sanctuary  within. 
On  the  reverse  is  "  Second  year  of  the 


40  THE  ORIGIN  OF  MONEY 

Deliverance  of  Israel."  A  citron  and  bundle 
of  branches. 

Considering  the  zeal  and  success  with  which 
the  Jewish  race  subsequently  devoted  themselves 
to  commerce  and  finance,  it  is  remarkable  how 
small  a  part  these  professions  play  in  the  early 
history  of  the  race.  One  ingenious  French  writer, 
indeed,  has  attempted  to  account  for  the  turbulence 
and  frowardness  of  the  Jews  in  ancient  times, 
by  suggesting  that  they  were  fretted,  being  driven 
by  circumstances  into  pastoral  and  agricultural 
pursuits  against  all  their  instinctive  and  natural 
tendencies,  being,  in  fact,  des  banquiers  comprinics. 

Figs.  65-66  show  a  dirhem  of  Haroun  al  Raschid, 


FlGS.  65-66. — Dirhem  of  Haroun  al  Raschid,  805  A.I). ;  silver  ; 
weight,  44  grs. 


the  romantic  hero  of  the  Arabian  Nights,  struck  at 
Bagdad  in  the  year  of  the  Hegira  189  (805  A.D.). 
It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  coin  bears  no  like- 


HAROUN  AL  RASCHID  41 

ness  of  the  great  caliph,  but  the  Mahomedans 
had,  and  still  have,  a  feeling  against  placing  any 
figure  on  a  coin.  The  inscription  is  simple,  and 
surely  very  grand.  On  the  obverse,  "  There  is  no 
God  but  Allah  :  he  is  one  ;  he  has  no  companion  "  ; 
and  on  the  reverse,  "  Mohammed  is  the  Messenger 
of  God." 


CHAPTER  II 

THE   COINAGE   OF   BRITAIN 

CAESAR  has  been  quoted  as  denying  the  exist- 
ence of  coins  among  the  Britons,  and  according 
to  the  common  text  of  his  Commentaries  the 
passage  runs,  "  Utuntur  aut  sere  aut  annulis 
(taleis)  ferreis  ad  certum  pondus  examinatis  pro 
nummis."  (They  use  brass  or  iron  rings  of  a 
certain  weight  for  money).  But,  as  Mr  Hawkins 
has  pointed  out,  many  of  the  manuscripts  have 
after  "sere,"  the  words  "aut  nummo  aureo,"  (or 
gold  money),  so  that  far  from  denying  the  exist- 
ence of  money,  he  expressly  affirmed  it. 

The  first  antiquary  who  described  and  figured 
an  ancient  British  coin  was  the  illustrious 
Camden  in  1586;  but  I  am  indebted  for  most  of 
the  following  facts  to  Sir  John  Evans'  excellent 
work  on  The  Coins  of  the  Ancient  Britons. 

The  earliest  British  coins  were  copies  of  the 
staters  of  Philip  of  Macedon  (Figs.  29-30),  and 
probably  date  back  to  about  B.C.  200-150.  The 

42 


ANCIENT  BRITISH  COINAGE  43 

earliest  inscribed  coins  are  those  of  Eppilus, 
Verica,  and  Tincommius,  sons  of  Commius,  a 
British  chief  mentioned  in  Caesar's  Commentaries, 
so  that  we  may  take  the  date  of  these  coins  at 
a  few  years  before  the  Christian  era.  The  un- 
inscribed  coins  were  doubtless  earlier.  Sir  J. 
Evans  ingeniously  attempts  to  determine  the 
date  from  the  diminution  in  weight.  The  stater 
of  Philip  weighed  133  grains;  the  earliest 
British  coins  120  grains,  reduced  by  B.C.  20  to 
84  grains  ;  so  that,  assuming  the  degradation  to 
have  been  approximately  regular,  the  weight  of 
1 20  grains  would  have  been  reached  by  about 
B.C.  200.  Sir  John  is  disposed,  however,  to  put 
them  a  little  later. 

'  The  coins  were  not  only  reduced  in  weight, 
but  the  artists  were  unable  to  reproduce  the 
beautiful  Greek  designs.  The  dies,  moreover, 
were  usually  considerably  larger  than  the  coins 
struck  from  them,  so  that  in  many  cases  a  por- 
tion only  of  the  pattern  was  reproduced  on  the 
coin. 

On  the  earlier  specimens  (Figs.  67-68)  the  head 
is  clear,  the  front  hair  is  represented  by  three  open 
crescents,  and  the  hair  at  the  back  of  the  head 
has  lost  the  graceful  waves  and  is  reduced  to 
parallel  rows  of  nearly  similar  curls ;  while  the 
wreath  of  olive  leaves  is  represented  by  a  double 


44  THE  COINAGE  OF  BRITAIN 

row  of  flat   leaves.     On    the    reverse    the  change 
is   greater;    one    horse    only    is    represented,    and 


FIGS.  67-^8. — Ancient  British  Stater,  B.C.  200-150;    gold  ; 
weight,  118  grs. 

that  but  badly ;  of  the  chariot  only  one  wheel 
remains,  while  the  charioteer  is  resolved  into  a 
series  of  dots.  The  inscription  is  copied, ;•-  but 
quite  illegible. 


FlGF.  69-70. — Ancient  British  Stater,  dr.  B.C.  150-100  ;  gold  ; 
weight,  95  grs. 

Figs.    69-70    represent    a    still    more  degraded, 
lighter,    and    probably    later    coin.     The    face   is 


ANCIENT  BRITISH  COINAGE  45 

omitted,  or  possibly  the  metal  did  not  reach  to 
that  part  of  the  die,  and  the  hair  is  still  further 
conventionalised.  The  horse  is  still  recognisable, 
though  on  some  other  specimens  it  is  so  much 
altered  that  the  neck  and  body  have  been  mis- 
taken by  some  writers  for  the  golden  knife 
said  to  have  been  used  by  the  Druids  for  cut- 
ting the  sacred  misletoe !  Finally,  Figs.  71-72 


FlGS.  71-72. — Ancient  British  Stater,  dr.  B.C.  150-100;  gold; 
weight,  90  grs. 

represent  a  coin  which  is  evidently  derived  from 
the  previous  example,  and  therefore  from  the 
stater  of  Philip.  We  can  still  trace  the  waves 
of  the  hair,  and  four  legs  of  a  horse,  but  if 
we  had  not  the  intermediate  stages  no  one 
could  tell  which  side  was  the  head  of -Apollo, 
and  which  was  the  chariot  and  horses!  It  is 
most  interesting  to  watch  this  gradual  degrada- 
tion, so  ably  traced  in  Sir  J.  Evans'  work. 

Some  of  the  smaller  British  coins  were  made  of 
tin. 


46  THE  COINAGE  OF  BRITAIN 

The  earliest  of  these  coins  were  probably 
struck  in  Kent,  and  thence  extended  westwards 
and  northwards.  It  is  doubtful  whether  the 
Dumnonii,  who  occupied  Devon  and  Cornwall, 
had  any  coinage  of  their  own,  nor  are  there 
any  types  which  can  be  assigned  with  certainty 
to  the  midland  counties. 

The  earliest  inscribed  British  coins  are,  as 
already  mentioned,  those  of  Eppilus.  Verica, 
and  Tincommius,  sons  of  Commius,  who  was 
King  of  the  Atrebates  at  the  time  of  Caesar's 
second  invasion,  B.C.  54.  The  illustration  given 
(Figs.  73-74)  represents  a  coin  of  Tincommius. 
On  the  obverse  is  "  Tine  "  on  a  sunk  tablet.  The 
reverse  is  a  horseman,  and  under  him  appears  a 


FlGS.   73-74. — Coin  of  Tincommius  ;    gold  ;  weight,  82  grs. 

capital  "  C."  On  other  coins  it  is  followed  by  an 
"  F,"  no  doubt  for  C(ommii)  F(ilius),  son  of 
Commius. 

Another    name    found     on    numerous    British 
coins    is     that     of     Tasciovanus,     King     of    the 


CYMBEL1NE  47 

Catyeuchlani  (Buckinghamshire,  Bedfordshire, 
Hertfordshire,  and  perhaps  Middlesex  and  Essex). 
His  name  appears  as  Tasc,  Tasciov,  and 
Tasciovan.  He  probably  reigned  from  about  B.C. 
30  to  5  A.D.,  and  was  the  father  of  Cunobeline. 


FIGS.  75-76. — Stater  of  Cunobeline  ;   gold  ;  weight,  82  grs. 

Figs.  75-76  represent  a  stater  of  Cunobeline, 
the  Cymbeline  of  Shakespeare,  struck  at  Camu- 
lodunum  (Colchester)  ;  it  is  a  remarkable  specimen 
of  British  art,  and  nothing  so  good,  except  perhaps 
some  of  Offa's  pennies,  was  struck  in  our  island  for 
several  hundred  years  afterwards.  It  is  approxi- 
mately of  the  year  30  A.D.,  and  bears  on  the 
obverse  the  letters  "  Camu,"  for  Camulodunum, 
separated  by  an  ear  of  corn,  the  Eastern  counties 
being  then,  as  now,  a  great  corn-growing  district. 
On  the  reverse  is  "  Cuno,"  with  a  horse  galloping. 

After  the  invasion  and  conquest  of  South  Britain 
by  Claudius,  our  native  coinage  was  replaced  by 
Roman  money,  of  which  the  circulation  must  have 
been  very  considerable.  Mints  were  re-established 


48  THE  COINAGE  OF  BRITAIN 

at  London  and  Colchester  by  Carausius  and  Allectus, 
continued  at  London  by  Constantine,  and  the 
last  Roman  coins  struck  in  England  were  those  of 
Magnus  Maximus,  who  died  in  388  A.D.. 

Then  followed  a  dark  interval,  and  it  was  not 
until  two  hundred  years  afterwards  that  the  Anglo- 
Saxons  commenced  to  strike  their  own  coins.  The 
earliest  of  these  was  the  sceatta,  generally  of  silver, 
but  occasionally  of  gold,  followed  by  the  penny  in 
silver,  and  the  styca  in  base  silver  and  copper. 
The  sceattas  and  stycas  were  not,  however,  struck 
at  one  time"  in  the  same  district.  Some  were  rude 
copies  of  Roman  and  other  coins,  while  other 
devices  were  probably  original. 

The  word  sceatta  signified  "  treasure."     We  still 


FIGS.  77-78. — Anglo-Saxon  Sceat,  600  A.D.  ;  gold; 
weight,  20  grs. 

have  it  in  the  word  "  scot,"  or  "  shot,"  as  "scot  and 
lot,"  paying  one's  shot,  scot-free,  etc.  The  specimen 
figured  belonged  to  about  600  A.D.  It  has  a  bust 
on  one  side,  and  on  the  other  a  cross  and  an 
inscription  in  blundered  R.unes,  which  is  supposed 


SCEATTAS.     STYCAS  49 


to  stand  for  "  Feartigo,"  or  forty,  i.e.,  forty  stycas. 
London  is  the  only  city  mentioned  on  the  sceattas  ; 
and  the  word  "  London  "  is  almost  the  only  intel- 
ligible inscription  in  Roman  letters. 

The  sceattas  were  not  in  general  circulation 
north  of  the  H  umber,  where  they  were  replaced 
by  stycas  (Germ,  stuck,  a  piece),  small  pieces  of 
base  silver  or  copper.  The  earlier  ones  much 
resembled  sceattas  ;  the  later  ones  were  of  more 
simple  forms,  such  as  a  small  cross,  a  circle,  or 
even  a  single  pellet. 

The  question  is  often  asked,  "  What  was  the 
value  of  these  ancient  coins?"  and  like  many 
other  questions,  it  is  easier  to  ask  than  to  answer. 
They  must  be  measured  in  something — say  wool 
or  wheat,  and  the  price  of  wheat  of  course  varied 
then,  as  it  does  now,  according  to  the  harvest.  By 
the  laws  of  Wessex  the  life  of  an  Anglo-Saxon 
was  valued  at  1200  sceattas,  that  of  a  Briton  at 
600. 

Before,  and  indeed  for  some  time  after,  they  had 
coins,  the  Anglo-Saxons  used,  as  Caesar  said  of  the 
ancient  Britons,  to  make  small  payments  by  break- 
ing pieces  off  their  armlets  or  rings,  and  such 
broken  bits  were  called  skillings  or  cuttings,  from 
which  our  word  shilling  is  derived. 

Figs.  79-80  represent  one  of  our  earliest  pennies. 
This  coin  was  first  struck  by  King  Pepin  about 

D 


50  THE  COINAGE  OF  BRITAIN 

the  year  755  A.D.,  and  in  760  was  adopted  by 
Offa,  who  was  King  of  Mercia,  from  757  to  796, 
and  erected  the  celebrated  Offa's  dyke,  which 


"    FlGS.  79-80. — Penny  of  Offa,  dr.  760  A.D.  ;  silver; 
weight,   17  grs. 

stretched  from  the  Dee  to  the  Bristol  Channel 
<His  pennies  were  struck  at  London,  Canterbury, 
and  perhaps  elsewhere.  A  few  Saxon  halfpence 
have  also  come  down  to  us.  The  full  weight  of 
the  penny  was  24  grains,  giving  the  name  to  the 
penny-weight,  and  240  went  to  the  Saxon  pound 
of  silver,  as  they  do  now  to  the  sovereign.  The 
name  is  said  by  some  to  be  derived  from  pendus, 
a  weight,  but  is  considered  by  Skeat  to  mean  a 
pawn  or  pledge.  The  types  of  Offa's  pennies  are 
numerous  and  varied,  and  they  show  attempts 
at  portraiture,  but  the  face  varies  very  much,  no 
doubt  from  want  of  skill,  though  no  coins  so 
artistic  as  those  of  Offa  were  again  struck  in 
England  until  the  time  of  Henry  VII.  The  coin 
figured  above  bears  on  the  obverse  a  bust  of 


PENNY  OF  OFFA;     OF  ALFRED  51 

Offa  and  his  name,  on  the  reverse  the  name 
of  the  moneyer,  EADHVVN,  in  angles  of  voided 
crosses.  From  the  time  of  Offa  the  penny  re- 
placed the  sceat,  and,  driving  the  Roman  silver 
money  out  of  circulation,  became,  and  until  the  end 
of  the  reign  of  Henry  III.  remained,  the  principal 
and  almost  the  only  English  coin.  It  preserved 
also  its  standard  of  fineness,  its  weight,  and  its 
general  type.  It  must,  however,  be  remembered 
that  it  was  a  silver  coin,  the  copper  penny  not 
being  introduced  till  1000  years  later,  under 
George  III.  Henry  III.  is  often  said  to  have 
struck  a  gold  penny — the  first  gold  coin  since 
the  Conquest.  The  expression  seems,  however, 
misleading.  He  struck  a  gold  piece  in  the  form 
of  a  penny,  but  it  was  valued  at  twenty  pence. 
Figs.  81-82  represent  a  penny  of  King  Alfred, 


FIGS.  81-82. — Penny  of  Alfred  ;   silver;  weight,  2$  grs. 

struck  in  London,  871-901  A.D.  The  obverse  is  a 
rude  bust  of  the  king,  with  the  inscription  "ALFRED 
REX,"  and  the  reverse  a  monogram  of  Londonia. 


52  THE  COINAGE  OF  BRITAIN 

At  this  period  the  archbishops  as  well  as  certain 
bishops  and  abbots  were  permitted  to  issue  coins 
with  their  own  heads  and  names.  Under  what 
circumstances  or  conditions  this  privilege  was 
granted  we  have  no  record.  The  earliest  are 
those  of  Jaenberht,  and  the  last  those  of  Plegmund 
(Figs.  83-84).  He  is  supposed  to  have  compiled 


FlGS.  83-84. — Penny  of  Archbishop  Plegmund,   890-914  A.D.  ; 

silver  ;    weight,  22  grs.  « 

and  written  the  first  part  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
Chronicle,  now  in  Corpus  Christi  College.  The 
series  covers  about  a  century.  Plegmund  held 
the  see  from  890  till  914  A.D.  The  obverse  is 
"  Plegmund  Archief"  in  full,  DO  RO  for  Doro- 
bernia ;  and  on  the  reverse  crosses  and  pellets, 
with  the  inscription  "  Hunfred  Mo,"  i.e.,  Hunfred 
Monetarius,  the  moneyer. 

The  privilege  was  withdrawn  by  Athelstan  in 
924,  who  enacted  that  there  should  be  but  "one 
money"  throughout  the  country,  and  after  this 


CANUTE.     EDWARD  THE  CONFESSOR      53 

the  ecclesiastical  coins  resembled  those  from  the 
royal  mints,  excepting  in  the  mint  marks,  and  the 
right  was  finally  abolished  by  Henry  VIII. 

Figs.  85-86  is  a  coin  of  Canute,  1016-26  A.D., 
struck  at  Hereford.  He  wears  a  pointed  helmet 
like  that  in  which  he  is  represented  on  the  Bayeux 
Tapestry.  The  reverse  bears  the  name  of  the 
moneyer,  ORDRIC  ON  (of)  HERE  (Hereford). 

The  mode  of  reckoning  by  pounds,  shillings, 
and  pence  was  introduced  in  Saxon  times,  a 
pound  being  then  a  poundsweight  of  silver.  The 


i 


FlGS.  85-86. — Penny  of  Canute,  dr.  1030  ;  silver  ; 
weight,   17  grs. 


shilling  was  not  a  coin  but  a  money  of  account, 
and  varied  in  value,  being  at  the  same  time 
estimated  in  one  district  at  48  to  the  pound,  in 
another  at  60.  The  penny — the  largest  silver  coin 
actually  struck — is  the  most  ancient  representative 
of  our  coinage,  as  it  continued  to  be  issued, 
though  much  reduced  in  weight,  till  after  the 
restoration  of  Charles  II.,  i.e.,  till  1662.  Except 


54  THE  COINAGE  OF  BRITAIN 

in  name,  however,  it  has  little  in  common  with 
our  present  penny. 

Figs.    87-88    represent    a    coin   of   Edward    the 


FlGS.  87-88. — Penny.     Edward   the   Confessor  ;    silver  ; 
weight,   1 8  grs. 

Confessor.  On  his  early  coins  he  is  represented 
without  a  beard  ;  but  on  the  later  ones,  as  on  that 
given,  he  is  shown  bearded.  For  the  first  time 
also  the  full  face  is  given.  The  obverse  showing 
the  king  with  a  mitre-shaped  helmet,  and  hold- 
ing a  sceptre,  depicts  him  as  he  is  represented 
on  the  Bayeux  Tapestry.  The  inscription  is 
EADPARD.  On  other  coins  the  name  is  spelt 
Edward,  Edwerd,  or  Eadweard,  or  Eadweardus. 
The  reverse  has  an  ornamented  cross  with  a 
circle  in  one  angle — the  special  mark  of  the  York 
mint,  i.e.,  the  ring  of  St  Peter.  His  mints  were 
numerous  and  the  types  very  varied.  His  pennies 
weighed  from  28  grains  down  to  15.  To  supply 
a  smaller  currency  it  was  common  to  cut  the 
penny  into  halves  and  quarters,  a  primitive  pro- 


WILLIAM  THE  CONQUEROR  55 

cess  for  which  the  cross  on  the  reverse  makes 
these  coins  specially  suitable.  Thus  the  halfpenny 
was  literally  the  half  of  a  penny.  In  fact  the 
halfpennies  were  so  generally  regarded  as  semi- 
circular, that  one  of  Merlin's  prophecies  was  that 
the  time  would  come  when  dimidium  rotundus  erit. 
This  was  supposed  to  be  fulfilled  when  Henry  I. 
ordered  round  halfpence  to  be  made.  It  is  curious, 
however,  that  none  of  these  are  known. 

The  Saxon  kings  had  a  great  number  of  mints, 
of  moneyers,  and  of  patterns.  Edward  the  Con- 
fessor, for  instance,  had  about  55  mints,  some  500 
moneyers,  and  though  his  coins  were  all  silver 
pennies,  17  distinct  types  are  known.  The  mints, 
moneyers,  and  varieties  of  coins  were,  on  the 
whole,  gradually  reduced  as  time  ran  on,  and 
at  the  beginning  of  his  reign,  Henry  II.  ordered 
one  pattern  for  all  his  coins,  which  should  be 
continuous. 

The  advent  of  the  Normans  brought  at  first 
no  material  change  in  the  currency,  but  the  coins 
of  William  the  Conqueror  were  of  the  same 
character  as  those  of  his  predecessors.  The 
penny  figured  belongs  to  about  the  year  1076. 
The  obverse  is  a  rude  bust  of  the  king  between 
two  sceptres,  with  the  inscription  "  Pillelm  Rex 
Anglie."  The  name  is  spelt  with  the  Saxon  P 
instead  of  W,  The  reverse  shows  a  floriated  cross 


56  THE  COINAGE  OF  BRITAIN 

over  a  cross  botonnee,  with  the  inscription  "  Man 
on  Cantulbi,"  it  having  been  struck  at  Canterbury. 


FIGS.  89-90. — William  the  Conqueror.      Penny;  silver; 
weight,   20  grs. 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  reign,  and  until  that 
of  Henry  II.,  the  coinage  became  worse  and  worse, 
some  of  those  of  Stephen  being  indeed  amongst 
the  rudest  ever  struck  in  our  islands.  Both 
Richard  Coeur  de  Lion  and  John  retained  the 
name  of  their  father  Henry  on  their  coins  ;  this 
is  the  more  remarkable  as  the  dies  were  changed, 
though  but  slightly.  Moreover,  Richard  struck 
coins  in  his  own  name  for  his  French  dominions. 
John  also  struck  some  pennies,  halfpennies,  and 
farthings  in  Ireland,  and  some  halfpennies  at  the 
London  and  Winchester  mints. 

From  the  Conquest,  the  penny  theoretically 
weighed  24  grains,  or  one  pennyweight,  so  that 
a  pound  of  silver  money  was  a  legal  pound  both  in 
weight  and  tale.  In  fact,  however,  the  penny 
rarely  weighed  more  than  20  grains.  In  the 


ENGLISH   GOLD  COINAGE  57 

28th  of  Edward  I.,  the  legal  weight  of  the  penny 
was  reduced  to  23.7073  grains. 

Henry  III.  struck  a  gold  penny,  which,  however, 
was  not  a  success,  and  was  soon  withdrawn.  Sir 
J.  Evans  is  disposed  to  regard  the  head  on  these 
coins  as  an  attempt  at  a  portrait.  Henry  III.  in- 
troduced the  convenient  practice  of  placing  the 
Roman  numerals  III.,  or  Terci,  after  his  name. 
This  was  unfortunately,  however,  abandoned,  until 
it  was  re-introduced  by  Henry  VII. 

We  have  seen  that  the  early  English  coins 
generally  bore  the  name  of  the  moneyer.  This 
practice  continued  till  the  time  of  Edward  I.,  after 
which  it  was  discontinued,  while  that  of  the  mint 
was  not  entirely  disused  till  the  last  year  of  Eliza- 
beth. The  moneyers,  or  later  mint  masters,  also 
sometimes  placed  a  mark  on  their  coins,  as,  for 
instance,  the  Y  on  Fig.  105,  indicating  that  it 
was  struck  by  Sir  John  Yorke.  Edward  III.  1^. 
was  the  first  to  introduce  the  "  Dei  gratia " 
on  our  coins,  though  it  had  appeared  on  all 
the  great  seals  since  the  time  of  William  the 
Conqueror ;  in  France  since  that  of  Charlemagne, 
and  in  Scotland  on  the  coins  of  Alexander  III. 
(1249-92).  It  was  even  used  by  Ina,  king  of  the 
West  Saxons,  in  the  introduction  to  his  laws.* 

In,    1343-4     Edward     III.     repeated     Henry's 
*  Ruding,  v.  I, 


58  THE  COINAGE  OF  BRITAIN 

attempt  to  introduce  a  gold  currency,  and  since  his 
reign  we  have  had  a  continuous  series  of  gold 
coins.  His  first  gold  pieces  were  "florins" — called 
from  the  city  of  Florence — current  for  6s.,  and  half 
and  quarter  florins.  They  were,  however,  valued 
too  high,  and  were  therefore  withdrawn  from 
circulation,  being  replaced  by  the  noble,  valued 
at  6s.  8d.,  its  half  and  quarter.  Edward  III.  first 
claimed  the  title  of  King  of  France,  which  was 
not  abandoned  till  the  reign  of  George  III.  The 
noble  bore  on  the  obverse  the  king  crowned  and 
standing  in  a  ship,  holding  a  sword  and  shield. 

Selden  suggested  that  Edward  III.  placed  a 
ship  on  his  coins  as  emblematic  of  the  sovereignty 
of  the  seas,  quoting  the  lines  of  an  old  distich  : — 

Four  things  our  Noble  sheweth  to  me, 
King,  ship,  and  sword,  and  power  of  the  Sea. 

It  has  also  been  attempted  to  connect  the  ship 
with  the  great  victory  over  the  French  at  Sluys  in 
1340.  In  support  of  this  the  curious  motto  on  the 
reverse  has  also  been  adduced.  This  runs  as 
follows:  "Jesus,  autem,  transiens  per  medium 
illorum  ibat,"  But  Jesus,  passing,  went  through 
the  midst  of  them. 

Thomas  de  Burton  (1396)  in  the  Chronicle  of  the 
Abbey  of  Meaux,  quoted  by  "Sir  J.  Evans,*  considers 
that  this  has  reference  to  the  battle  of  Sluys.     He 
*  The  First  Gold  Coins  of  England — Num.  Chron,,  1900. 


EDWARD  III.  FLORIN;  NOBLE  59 

says  that  at  first  the  French  ships  were  chained 
together,  lest  they  should  possibly  be  separated 
the  one  from  the  other;  but  before  the  first  on- 
slaught, as  King  Edward  and  his  fleet  feigned 
to  flee,  they  broke  the  chains  and  pursued  him  in 
a  disorderly  manner,  which,  when  Edward  saw,  he 
marshalled  his  ships  in  order,  and  passing  through 
the  midst  of  them,  obtained  the  victory  as  already 
related.  On  which  account  King  Edward  himself 
caused  the  impression  of  his  gold  money  to  be 
changed.  Therefore  on  his  noble,  which  is  worth 
half  a  mark,  he  ordained  that  there  should  be 
impressed,  on  the  one  side,  a  ship  having  in  it  the 
king  armed,  and  around  it  the  king's  name  written, 
and  on  the  other  side  a  cross  with  the  circum- 
scription, "  Jesus,  autem,  transiens  per  medium 
illorum  ibat."  The  inscription,  however,  occurs  also 
on  the  florin,  on  which  the  ship  does  not  appear. 

By  some  this  motto  has  been  regarded  as  a  warn- 
ing against  clipping  ;  others  that  it  was  a  charm  used 
by  alchemists  in  endeavouring  to  "make"  gold, 
but  none  of  these  suggestions  seems  very  reason- 
able. A  more  probable  view  regards  it  as  a  charm. 
Sir  J.  Maundeville  in  his  Adventures  mentions  that, 
"  half-a-mile  from  Nazareth  is  the  lepe  of  our  Lord. 
For  the  Jews  led  Him  upon  an  high  rock  to  make 
him  leap  down,  and  to  have  slain  him  ;  but  Jesu 
passed  amongst  them,  and  leapt  upon  another  rock, 


60  THE  COINAGE  OF  BRITAIN 

and  the  steps  of  His  feet  be  yet  in  the  rock,  where 
he  alighted.  And  therefore,  say  some  men,  when 
they  dread  them  of  thieves  on  any  way,  or  of 
enemies:  ' Jesus,  autem,  transiens  per  medium 
illorum  ibat,'  that  is  to  say,  '  Jesus,  forsooth,  pass- 
ing by  the  midst  of  them,  went ; '  in  token  and 
mind,  that  as  our  Lord  passed  through,  out  of  the 
Jews  cruelty,  and  escaped  safely  from  them,  so 
surely  men  pass  the  peril  of  thieves."  * 

This,  as  Sir  J.  Evans  points  out,  is  the  more  signi- 
ficant because  it  was  in  all  probability  written  with- 
out any  reference  to  the  fact  of  the  motto  having 
been  used  on  the  coins.  This  view  is  also 
strengthened  by  the  fact  that  the  motto  was  also 
sometimes  engraved  on  finger-rings.  A  piece  of 
money,  therefore,  with  this  inscription,  was  not 
only  a  coin,  but  a  charm. 

During  the  reigns  of  Richard  II.,  Henry  IV., 
V.,  and  VI.,  there  was  but  little  change  in  our 
coinage. 

Edward  IV.  also  introduced  the  angel,  about 
1470  (Figs.  91-92),  so  called  from  its  bearing  the 
Archangel  Michael  piercing  the  dragon.  The 
reverse  is  a  ship  with  a  mast  in  the  form  of  a 
cross.  It  weighed  So  grains,  and  was  current  for 
6s.  Sd.  This  coin  is  interesting  from  having  been 
the  one  always  used  to  put  round  the  necks  of 
*  The  Adventures  of  Sir  John  Maundeville^  p.  135. 


ANGEL 


61 


patients  touched  for    the   King's  evil.       It  is  also 
especially  associated  with  English  literature. 


FlGS.  91-92. — Angel.    Edward  IV.,  A.D.  1465. 

These  coins  are  certainly  very  beautiful ;  so 
much  so,  indeed,  that  various  fables  arose  as  to 
their  origin,  and  the  gold  was  supposed  by  many 
to  have  been  produced  by  Raymond  Lully  by 
occult  means. 

Edward  IV.  also  coined  nobles,  and  to  distin- 
guish them  from  those  of  his  predecessors,  he 
placed  on  the  ship  a  rose,  the  badge  of  the 
House  of  York,  from  which  these  coins  were 
termed  rose  nobles.  The  weight  was  raised  to 
1 20  grains;  and  the  current  value  to  ten  shillings. 

During  the  reigns  of  Edward  V.  and  Richard 
III.  no  important  changes  were  introduced  into 
the  currency.  Henry  VI I. ,  on  the  contrary,  made 
great  alterations.  The  shilling  had  long  been  a 


62  THE  COINAGE  OF  BRITAIN 

money  of  account,  but  was  now  for  the  first  time 
struck  -as   a  coin.     The  obverse   ivas  a    profile  of 


FIGS.  93-94. — Rose  Noble  of  Edward  IV.,   1465-70  ; 
weight,  119.4  grs- 

the   king.     The    motto   on   the  reverse,  is  "  Ppsui 
Deum  Adjutorem  Meum,"  I  have  made  God  my 


FIGS.  95-96. — The  First  Shilling.     Henry  VII.;  silver;  1504; 
weight,  141.3  grs. 

helper.     In  the    Prayer    Book    (Psalm    liv.   4)    it 


THE  FIRST  SHILLING  AND  SOVEREIGN      63 

stands,  God  is  my  helper.  The  shilling  of  Henry 
VII.  is  the  first  English  coin  on  which  we  get 
a  real  portrait.  "  Nothing,"  says  C.  F.  Keary, 
"  superior  to  it  has  appeared  since."  *  Henry  VI L 
was  also  the  first  to  coin  the  sovereign  (Figs. 
97-98).  The  obverse  is  the  king  enthroned,  with 
sceptre  and  orb.  On  the  reverse  we  still  find  the 


FlGS.  97-98. — 'The  First  Sovereign  ;  gold  ;   1489  ; 
weight,  239.1  grs. 

motto,  "  Jesus,  autem,  transiens  per  medium  illorum 
ibat,"  round  a  shield  on  a  large  double  rose 
within  a  tressure.  The  double  rose  signified 
the  union  of  the  Houses  of  York  and  Lancaster 
by  Henry's  marriage  with  the  Yorkish  princess 
Elizabeth.  The  sovereign  weighed  240  grains,  and 
.passed,  as  it  does  now,  for  twenty  shillings. 
*  Coins  and  Medals. 


64  THE  COINAGE  OF  BRITAIN 

Another  improvement  made  by  Henry  VII. 
was  that  he  adopted  the  plan  first  invented  by 
Henry  ,111.,  but  subsequently  dropped,  and 
placed  a  VII.  after  his  name  on  the  coins.  He 
was  also  the  first  of  our  sovereigns  to  recognise 
that  no  change  should  be  made  in  the  money 
without  the  consent  of  Parliament. 

The  likeness  of  Henry  VIII.  on  his  coins  is  also 
very  good.  Figs.  99-100  show  a  shilling  of  1543. 


FlGS.  99-100. — Shilling  of  Henry  VIII.  ;  silver  ;  weight,  121.3  §rs- 

Figs.  101-102  represent  a  groat  struck  by  Cardinal 
Wolsey  at  York,  and  bearing  his  initials,  "  T.  W." 
above  a  cardinal's  hat.  The  archbishops  were 
allowed  to  issue  half-groats  and  pennies,  but  a 
charge  was  trumped  up  against  Wolsey  that  he 
was  guilty  of  treason  in  issuing  the  above  coin, 
because  it  was  a  groat  and  not  a  half-groat ! 
That  he  placed,  his  cardinal's  hat  on  the  coins 


WOLSEY'S  GROAT  65 

was  one  of  the  articles    brought  against    him  by 
the  Earl  of  Surrey  in  Shakespeare  : — 

That  out  of  mere  ambition,  you  have  caused 
Your  holy  hat  to  be  stamped  on  the  King's  coin. 


FIGS.  ioT-102, — Groat  of  Henry  VIII.  ;   silver;  weight,  45  grs. 

t 

The  4Oth  article  of  Wolsey's  impeachment 
states  that  "  also  the  said  Lord  Cardinal,  of  his 
further  pompous  and  presumptuous  mind,  hath 
enterprised  to  join  and  imprint  the  cardinal's 
hat  under  your  arms  in  your  coin  of  groats, 
made  at  your  City  of  York,  which  like  deed  has 
not  been  seen  to  have  been  done  by  any  sub- 
ject within  your  realm  before  this  time."  This 
was  true  enough,  for  the  previous  archbishops 
were  not  cardinals ;  but  his  ruin  being  deter- 
mined on,  any  excuse  would  suffice. 

To  provide  for  his  extravagant  expenditure 
Henry  VIII.  lowered  the  standard  of  fineness 

E 


66  THE  COINAGE  OF  BRITAIN 

of  both  the  gold  and  silver  coins,  which  had 
been  preserved,  in  the  case  of  the  silver  from 
the  Conquest,  and  in  that  of  gold  from  the  time 
of  Edward  III.  It  was  during  his  reign  that  the 
local  -mints,  except  Southwark,  Bristol,  and  York, 
were  suppressed. 

Edward  VI,  to  his  great  honour,  did  much  to 
restore  the  coinage  to  a  satisfactory  condition. 
He  was  also  the  first  of  our  sovereigns  to  put 
a  date  on  his  coins,  the  earliest  being  the  shilling 
of  1547,  It  seems  extraordinary  that  so  useful 


FlGS.   103-104. — Shilling  !of  Edward   VI.;   silver; 
weight,  75  grs. 

an  addition  should  have  been  so  late  in  suggest- 
ing itself 

I  give  two  of  his  coins — one  for  the  sake  of 
the  likeness  (Figs.  103-104),  a  shilling  of  1549, 
dated  on  the  obverse  M.D.XLIX.,  and  the  second 


FIRST  DATED  COINS  67 

(Figs.  105-106)  a  half-crown,  with  the  date  1551, 
for  two  reasons — as  the  first  half-crown  issue,  and 
one  of  the  first  dated  coins.  It  has  indeed  been 


FlGS.  105-106. — Half-crown  of  Edward  VI.  ;   silver  ; 
weight,  238  grs. 

suggested  that  the  earliest  instance  is  on  a  silver 
coin,  supposed  to  have  been  struck  by  the  Duchess 
of  Burgundy  for  Perkin  Warbeck,*  when  he  set  out 
to  invade  England  in  1494.  Ruding,  however, 
justly  questions  this  ;  and  in  the  "  Medallic  Illus- 
tratipns,"  by  Mr  Hawkins,  Sir  A,  Wollaston  Franks, 
and  Mr  Grueber,-f-  the  learned  authors,  give 
conclusive  reasons  for  regarding  the  piece  as 
merely  a  medal  and  not  a  coin.  The  earliest  true 
dated  English  coins  were  therefore,  as  already  men- 

*  Ruding,  Annals  of  the  Coinage,  vol.  i. 

t   Printed  by  order  of  the  Trustees  of  the  British  Museum. 


68  THE  COINAGE  OF  BRITAIN 

tioned,  the  shillings  of  1547.  The  legend  on  the 
half-crown  is,  "  EDWARD  vi.  b.G.  ANGL.  FRA.  z.  hiB. 
REX.  Y."  The  letter  Y  indicates  that  it  was 
struck  by  Sir  John  Yorke  at  Southwark.  Those 
struck  at  the  Tower  have  a  ton — a  rebus  on  the 
name  of  Nicholas  Throgmorton 

Figs.  107-108  are  a  shilling  of  Philip  and  Mary, 
face  to  face,  as  mentioned  in  the  well  -  known 
lines  in  Hudibras,  where  two  lovers  are  described 
as  being — 

Still  amorous  and  fond  and  billing, 
Like  Philip  and  Mary  on  a  shilling. 


-FiGS.   107-108. — Shilling  of  Philip  and  Mary;  silver; 
weight,  96  grs. 

On  the  half-crown  Philip's  bust  is  on  one  side 
and  Mary's  on  the  other. 

Figs.  109-110  represent  a  crown  of  Elizabeth, 
1 60 1.  Obverse,  the  bust  of  the  queen  holding  a 


ELIZABETH  69 

sceptre  and  orb.  Reverse,  a  shield  on  a  cross.  Up 
to  this  reign  coins  were  simply  struck  by  a  hammer. 
Elizabeth  introduced  the  use  of  the  mill  and 


FlGS.   109-1 10. — Crown  of  Elizabeth  ;  silver  ;  weight,  456  grs. 

screw.  She  completed  also  the  reform  of  the 
coinage  which  had  been  begun  by  her  brother.. 
As  Bishop  Jewel  said  in  a  letter  to  Peter 
Martyr  of  Zurich,  .dated  7th  February  1562, 
"  Queen  Elizabeth  has  restored  all  our  gold  and; 
silver  coinage  to  its-  former  value,  and  rendered . 
it  pure  and  unalloyed:  a  truly  royal  act,  and 
which  you  will  wonder  could  have  been  effected 
in  so  short  a  time."  The  denomination,  weight, 
and  fineness  of  the  silver  coins  have  remained 
unchanged  since  the  time  of  Elizabeth. 

The  union  of  the    Scotch   and  English  crowns 


70  THE  COINAGE  OF  BRITAIN 

under  James  I.  is  marked  on  the  coins  by  plac- 
ing the  Scottish  title  upon  the  coins,  and  the 
quartering  upon  the  English  shield  of  the  arms  of 
Scotland  which,  with  those  of  Ireland,  now  appear 
for  the  first  time  upon  our  money.  On  some  of 
his  coins  James  placed  the  motto,  "  Henricus 
rosas  regna  Jacobus,"  i.e.,  Henry  united  the  roses 
(of  York  and  Lancaster),  James,  the  kingdoms. 

The  coinage  of  Charles  I.  was  more  varied  than 
that  of  any  previous  or  subsequent  reign.  Grueber 
divides  it  into  three  classes :  I.  That  struck  at  the 
Tower  mint.  2.  That  of  the  local  mints.  3.  That 
which  was  issued  in  towns  or  castles  during  sieges. 
These  last  were,  he  says,  of  the  nature  of  a  "  money 
of  necessity,"  and  scarcely  enter  into  the  regular 
series  of  our  coins. 

I  have  selected  the  coin  figured  (Figs.  111-112) 
for  the  sake  of  the  portrait.  The  xx,  of  course, 
indicates  the  number  of  shillings.  Under  the 
flower  mint-mark  is  a  very  small  "  B,"  indicating 
that  it  was  by  the  celebrated  artist  Briot.  It  is 
creditable  to  Charles  that  in  all  his  troubles,  and 
however  rude  some  of  his  coins  were,  he  never 
debased  the  standard. 

In  1649  the  Parliament  struck  gold  and  silver 
coins  with  "The  Commonwealth  of  England  "  on 
one  side,  and  "  God  with  us  "  on  the  other,  whence 
it  was  wittily  said  that  God  and  the  Parliament 


CHARLES  I.     CROMWELL  71 

were  on  opposite  sides.    The  type  was  the  shield  of 


FIGS,  in-112. — Charles  I.  Unite,  or  2O-shilling  piece  ;  gold  ;  1632  , 
weight,  141  grs. 

St  George  on  the  obverse,  and  those  of  St  George 
and  Ireland  conjoined  on  the  reverse. 
"   Figs.  113-114  represent  a  half-crown  of  Crom- 


FlGS.    113-114.— Cromwell   Half-crown;    silver;    1658; 
weight,  229.1   grs. 


72  THE  COINAGE  OF  BRITAIN 

well,  struck  in  1658.  The  inscription  is  "OLIVAR 
D.  G.  RP.  ANG.  SCO.  ET  HIB.  &c.  PRO.,"  and  on  the 
reverse,  "PAX  QU^RITUR  BELLO,  1658,"  a  crowned 
shield  with  arms,  an  inescutcheon  bearing  the  Pro- 
tector's paternal  arms. 

Our  Sovereigns  had  a  curious  prejudice  against 
the  issue  of  copper  coins,  which  they  seem  to  have 
considered  as  beneath  their  dignity.  Halfpence 
and  even  farthings  were  struck  of  silver,  but  the 
size  was  so  inconveniently  small  that  after  the 
Commonwealth  they  were  given  up.  No  silver 
farthings,  however,  wrere  issued  after  Edward  VI. 
In  the  absence  of  other  small  change,  tradesmen 
were  in  the  habit  of  issuing  "  tokens,"  of  copper, 
brass,  or  lead,  which  were  of  small  value,  and  only 
locally  current.*  They  were,  however,  very  incon- 
venient, and  at  length,  after  much  hesitation,  James 
I.  consented  to  an  issue  of  farthing  tokens,  but  not 
wishing  them  to  come  directly  from  the  Royal 
mints,  granted  patents  to  Lord  Harrington  and 
others.  They  were  issued  from  "  Tokenhouse 
Yard  "  in  the  city,  but  on  account  of  their  small 
size,  extreme  thinness,  and  small  value,  they  were 
not  found  very  convenient.  During  the  Common- 

*  Queen  Elizabeth,  indeed,  coined  halfpence  and  farthings 
of  base  silver,  and  granted  licenses  to  the  cities  of  Bristol, 
Oxford,  and  Worcester,  to  coin  copper  tokens,  which  were 
to  be  current  in  that  city  and  for  ten  miles  round. 


THE  GUINEA  73 

wealth  there  was  a  revival  of  the  use  of  tradesmen's 
tokens  ;  but  in  1672  Charles  II.  struck  an  issue  of 
halfpence  and  farthings  on  a  sound  basis,  and  the 
tradesmen's  tokens  were  declared  illegal. 

In  1684  he  struck  farthings  of  tin,  with  a  square 
plug  of  copper  in  the  centre  to  render  counterfeit- 
ing more  difficult.  These,  however,  were  not  con- 
sidered worthy  to  be  ranked  as  money,  and  were 


FIGS.  115-116. — Charles  II.  Guinea  ;  gold  ;.  \\eight,  131^  gr?. 

inscribed  round  the  edge,  "  Nummorum  famulus," 
to  indicate  that  they  were  to  be  regarded  as 
servants  or  helps  to  the  true  coinage. 

The  guinea  (Figs.  115-116)  was  first  struck  by 
Charles  II.  in  1663,  and  was  so  called  because  it 
was  made  of  gold  brought  from  Guinea  by  the 
African  Company.  The  value  was  at  first  2os., 
and  remained  so  till  the  reign  of  William  and 
Mary.  At  that  period,  however,  there  was  no  fixed 
relation  between  the  coins,  and  the  silver  coinage 


74  THE  COINAGE  OF  BRITAIN 

gradually  deteriorated,  in  consequence  of  which 
the  value  fell  until  303.  went  to  the  guinea.  To 
remedy  this  a  new  issue  was  made,  and  in  1698 
the  guinea  was  'fixed  at  2is.  6d.,  reduced  in  1717 
to  2 is.,  at  which  it  henceforth  remained.  The  last 
guineas  were  struck  in  1813. 

The  halfpence  and  farthings  bore  on  the  reverse 
the  figure  of  Britannia,  with  which  we  are  so  familiar. 
It  is  supposed  to  have  been  taken  from  a  coin  of 
Antoninus  Pius  (Figs.  57-58),  and  the  head  is  said 
to  have  been  a  portrait  of  the  beautiful  Frances 
Stewart,  Duchess  of  Richmond. 

Pepys,  in  his  amusing  diary,  under  the  date  of 
25th  February  1667,  says  :  "  At  my  goldsmith's  did 
observe  the  king's  new  medal,  where  in  little, 
there  is  Mrs  Stewart's  face  as  well  done  as  ever  I 
saw  anything  in  my  whole  life,  I  think  ;  and  a 
pretty  thing  it  is,  that  he  should  choose  her  face 
to  represent  Britannia  by." 

In  the  first  of  this  series  Britannia  was  armed 
with  a  spear,  and  her  seat  was  placed  on  earth  ;  but 
Boulton's  engraver,  Kiichler,  in  1797,  ingeniously 
represented  her  as  ruling  the  waves  by  turning  the 
spear  into  a  trident,  and  replacing  the  earth  by 
sea  on  which  a  ship  was  sailing.  I  cannot  but 
regret  the  omission  of  the  ship  on  our  recent 
pennies. 

The    coins     of    Charles     1 1.     and     succeeding 


THE  PENNY  75 

Sovereigns  have  the  bust  of  the  reigning  monarch 
turned  the  opposite  way  to  that  of  his  predecessor. 
Charles  is  said  to  have  adopted  this  position  from 
his  reluctance  to  look  the  same  way  as  Cromwell ! 

During  the  reigns  of  James  II.  and  William  and 
Mary  some  halfpence  and  farthings  were  struck 
of  tin. 

.  Under  Queen  Anne  there  were  two  issues  of 
gold  and  silver  money,  one  before  and  the  other 
after  the  Union.  The  denominations  were  the 
same,  but  whereas  before  the  Union  the  arms  of 
England  and  Scotland  were  on  separate  shields, 
after  the  Union  they  were  impaled  on  one.  The 
Act  also  provided  that  the  coinage  should  be  of 
the  same  standard  and  value  throughout  the 
United  Kingdom. 

In  1797  the  Government  adopted  the  singular 
plan  of  issuing  Spanish  dollars  countermarked 
with  the  head  of  the  King.  The  stamp  was 
small  and  oval,  being  that  used  by  the  Gold- 
smith's Company  for  stamping  plate.  These 
dollars  were  current  for  4s.  and  Qd.,  whence  the 
saying,  "  Two  king's  heads  not  worth  a  crown." 
In  1804  the-  Bank  of  England  struck  dollars, 
which,  however,  did  not  retain  a  permanent  place 
in  our  coinage. 

Owing  to  the  dearth  of  small  change  there  was 
a  return  to  tradesmen's  tokens,  and  in  consequence 


76  THE  COINAGE  OF  BRITAIN 

copper  pence — the  first  appearance  of  the  penny 
in  that  metal — were  struck  by  George  III.  in  1/97. 

The  beautiful  design  of  St  George  and  the 
Dragon,  by  Pistrucci,  first  appeared  in  1817.  It 
is  said  that  it  was  originally  intended  for  a  gem 
which  he  was  engraving  for  Lord  Spencer. 

William  IV.  in  1836  revived  the  "  groat,"  or 
4d.,  at,  it  was  said,  the  instance  of  Joseph  Hume, 
whence  they  were  known  as  Joeys.  They  were 
discontinued  in  1856. 

The  threepenny  piece  had  been  used  since 
1662  for  Maundy  money,  and  was  put  into 
general  circulation  in  1845.  The  florin  was 
adopted  in  1849,  and  in  the  first  issues  the  "  Dei 
Gratia,"  which  had  appeared  on  our  coinage  since 
the  time  of  Edward  III.,  was  omitted,  whence  they 
were  termed  the  graceless  or  godless  florins.  The 
letters  were  inserted  in  the  1851  issue.  Bronze 
was  substituted  for  the  copper  coinage  in  1860. 

On  the  occasion  of  the  Queen's  jubilee  in 
1887  many  changes  were  made  in  the  coinage. 
They  did  not,  however,  give  satisfaction,  and  in . 
1893  a  Committee  was  appointed,  over  which  I 
had  the  honour  of  presiding,  by  which  designs 
were  selected  for  submission  to  Her  Majesty,  by 
whom  they  were  approved.  These  continued  in 
use  until  the  end  of  the  reign. 

In   1895  there  was    a   new  issue  of  the  bronze 


QUEEN  VICTORIA 


77 


coinage,  when  the  ship  and  lighthouse  were 
omitte.d,  a  change  which  does  not  seem  to  me 
any  improvement. 

In  the  same  year  a  British  dollar  was  issued 
for  use  in  our  Eastern  possessions.  Its  weight, 
416  grains,  and  fineness,  are  the  same  as  those 
of  the  Japanese  "Yen."  It*  has  on  the  obverse  a 
figure  of  Britannia  with  a  trident,  standing  upon 
a  rock  in  the  sea,  with  the  inscription,  "  British 
Dollar " ;  on  the  reverse,  .a  device*  of  four  com- 
partments, wjth'a  Chinese  labyrinth  in  the  centre, 
and  the  value  is  inscribed  in  Chinese  and  Malay 
characters  in  a  beaded  circle,  and  with  a  key- 
pattern  border.  ' 
'The  last  of  our  coins  (Figs.  1 17-1 1 8)  which  I 


FIGS.  117-118. — Rupee;  silver;  weight,   174^  grs. 

propose   to  figure  is  a  rupee  of  1861,  showing  our 
late  lamented  Queen  in  a  Hindoo  robe. 


78  THE  COINAGE  OF  BRITAIN 

It  is  curious  and  interesting  how  different  the 
history  of  our  principal  coins  has  been.  The 
penny  is  in  one  sense  the  most  ancient,  and 
goes  back  to  the  time  of  Offa,  but  it  was  then 
a  silver  coin,  -and  so  remained  till  1797,  when  it 
was  struck  in  copper  by  George  III.  In  1817 
it  became  a  token  coin. 

The  shilling  is  also  very  ancient  as  a  money 
of  account,  but  was  first  struck  as  a  coin  by 
Henry  VII.  in  1504.  It  then  weighed  141.3 
grains.  It  now  weighs  87 J,  which,  however,  is 
immaterial,  as,  like  the  penny,  it  became  a  token 
coin  in  1816.  Our  sovereign  goes  back  to 
Henry  VI L,  and  was  first  coined  in  1489,  when  it 
weighed  240  grains,  but  was  finally  fixed  at  its 
present  weight  of  i23T%y_  grains  under  George 
III.  in  1816,  when  the  beautiful  design  of  St 
George  and  the  Dragon  was  introduced,  the  other 
coins  then  became  tokens,  and  the  sovereign 
became  the  standard. 

The  last  bust  of  the  Queen  on  the  sovereign  and 
half-sovereign  was  by  Mr  Brock.  She  wears  the 
Ribbon  and  Star  of  the  Garter,  and  below  are  the 
initials  "  T.B."  The  letters,  "  Ind.  Imp.,"  Empress 
of  India,  were  now  introduced,  so  that  the  inscrip- 
tion reads,  "  Victoria  Dei  Gra.  Britt.  Regina  Fid. 
Def.  Ind.  Imp.""  The  reverse  is  Pistrucci's  St 
George  and  the  Dragon,  with  the  Initials  "  B.P." 


LIST  OF  ENGLISH  COINS  79 

The  bust  of  Her  Majesty  on  the  half-crown 
and  the  design  on  the  reverse  are  also  by  Mr 
Brock. 

The  reverses  of  the  florin,  shilling,  and  sixpence 
were  designed  by  Sir  E.  J.  Poynter,  P.R.A. 

LIST  OF  ENGLISH  COINS. 

The  following  list  of  English  coins  from  the 
Conquest  is  compiled  from  Mr  Grueber's  excellent 
Handbook  of  tJie  Coins  of  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland.  It  must  be  understood  that  the  types 
are  very  varied. 

WILLIAM  I.  Silver— Penny. 

WILLIAM  II.  Silver— Penny. 

HENRY  I.  Silver— Penny. 

STEPHEN  I.  Silver — Penny. 

HENRY  II.  Silver— Penny. 

RICHARD  I.  Silver— Penny. 

JOHN.  Silver — Penny  and  Halfpenny. 
HENRY  I.-III.  Gold— Penny. 
Silver — Penny. 
EDWARD  I.  Silver — Groat  (?)     Penny,     Halfpenny,     and 

Farthing. 

EDWARD  II.  Silver — Penny.  Halfpenny,  and  Farthing. 
EDWARD  III.  Gold — Florin,    Half-Florin,    Quarter-Florin, 
Noble,     Half-Noble,  and    Quarter- Noble. 
Silver — Groat,     Half-Groat,     Penny,     Half- 
penny, and  Farthing. 

RICHARD  II.  Gold— Noble,     Half-Noble,     and     Quarter- 
Noble. 

Silver— Groat,     Half-Groat,     Penny,     Half- 
penny, and  Farthing. 


80  THE  COINAGE  OF  BRITAIN 

HENRY  IV.  Gold— Noble,     Half-Nobfe,     and     Quarter- 
Noble. 

Silver — Groat,     Half-Groat,     Penny,     Half- 
penny, and  Farthing. 
HENRY  V.  No  change. 
HENRY  VI.  Gold— Noble,    Half-Noble,    Quarter-Noble, 

Angel,  arid  Half-Angel. 

Silver — Groat,      Half-Groat,     Penny,     Half- 
penny, and  Farthing. 

EDWARD  IV.  Gold— Noble,    Rose    Noble  or    Ryal,    Half 
.     Rose  Noble,  Quarter  Rose  Noble,  Angel, 

and  Half- Angel. 

Silver— Groat,     Half-Groat,     Penny,     Half- 
penny, and  Farthing. 
EDWARD  V.  Gold— Angel,  and  Half-Angel. 

Silver — Groat. 
RICHARD  III.  Gold — Angel,  and  Half-AngeL 

Silver— Groat,  Half-Groat,  Penny,  and  Half- 
penny. 
HENRY  VII.  Gold— Ryal    or     Noble,   Sovereign,    Angel, 

and  Half-Angel. 
Silver— Shilling,   Groat,  Half-Groat,  Penny, 

Halfpenny,  and  Farthing. 

HENRY  VIII.  Gold — Double   Sovereign,    Sovereign,  Half- 
Sovereign,    Crown,    Half-Crown,    Ryal  or 
Rose    Noble,  Angel,   Half-Angel,  George 
Noble,  and  Half  George  Noble. 
Silver — Shilling,    or    Testoon,    Groat,    Half- 
Groat,  Penny,  Halfpenny,  and  Farthing. 
EDWARD  VI.  Gold — Triple-Sovereign,    Double-Sovereign, 
Sovereign,  Half- Sovereign,   Crown,   Half- 
Crown,  Angel,  and  Half-Angel. 
Silver— Crown,    Half-Crown,    Shilling,    Six- 
pence,   Groat,     Threepence,     Half-Groat, 
Penny,  Halfpenny,  and  Farthing. 

MARY  (alone).  Gold— Sovereign,   Ryal,    Angel,    and   Half- 
Angel. 
Silver — Groat,  Half-Groat,  and  Penny. 


LIST  OF  ENGLISH  COINS  81 

PHILIP     and     Gold — Angel,  and  Half-Angel. 

MARY.  Silver — Half-Crown,       Shilling,       Sixpence, 

Groat,   Half-Groat,  and  Penny. 

ELIZABETH.  Gold — Sovereign,  Ryal,  Half-Sovereign, 
Crown,  Half-Crown,  Angel,  Half-Angel, 
and  Quarter-Angel. 

Silver — Crown,  Half-Crown,  Shilling,  Six- 
pence, Groat,  Threepence,  Half-Groat, 
Three  Halfpence,  Penny,  Three  Farthings, 
and  Halfpenny. 

JAMES  I.  Gold — Sovereign  or  Unite,  Half- Sovereign 
or  Double-Crown,  Crown  or  Britain 
Crown,  Half-Crown,  Thistle  Crown, 
Angel,  Half-Angel,  Rose  Ryal  or  Thirty- 
Shilling  Piece,  Spur  Ryal  or  Fifteen- 
Shilling  Piece,  Laurel,  Half-Laurel,  and 
Quarter-Laurel. 

Silver — Crown,  Half-Crown,  Shilling,  Six- 
pence, Half-Groat,  Penny,  and  Half- 
penny. 

Copper — Farthing. 

CHARLES  I.  Gold — Triple-Unite  or  Three-Pound  Piece, 
Unite  or  Twenty  Shillings,  Double- 
Crown  or  Ten  Shillings,  Crown  or  Five 
Shillings,  and  Angel. 

Silver — Pound  or  Twenty  Shillings,  Half- 
Pound  or  Ten  Shillings,  Crown,  Half- 
Crown,  Shilling,  Sixpence,  Groat,  Half- 
Groat,  Penny,  and  Halfpenny. 

Copper — Farthing. 

CROMWELL.  Gold — Fifty    Shillings,     Broad    or    Twenty 
Shillings,    and    Half-Broad   or   Ten   Shil- 
lings. 
Silver — Crown,    Half-Crown,     Shilling,    and 

Sixpence. 
Copper — Farthing. 

F 


82  THE  COINAGE  OF  BRITAIN 

CHARLES  II.  Hammered.     Gold — Broad  or  Twenty  Shil- 
lings,   Half-Broad  or  Ten    Shillings,  and 
Crown    or  Five  Shillings. 
Silver — Half-Crown,       Shilling,       Sixpence, 
Groat,      Threepence,      Half-Groat,      and 
Penny. 
Milled.     Gold— Five  Guineas,  Two  Guineas, 

Guinea,  and  Half-Guinea. 
Silver — Crown,    Half-Crown,    Shilling,    Six- 
pence,   and    Maundy    Groat,  Threepence, 
Half-Groat,  and  Penny. 
Copper — Halfpenny  and  Farthing. 
Tin — Farthing. 
JAMES  II.  Gold — Five  Guineas,  Two  Guineas,  Guinea, 

and  Half-Guinea. 

Silver — Crown,    Half-Crown,    Shilling,    Six- 
pence,   and    Maundy   Groat,   Threepence, 
Half-Groat,  and  Penny. 
Tin — Halfpenny  and  Farthing. 

WILLIAM  and   Gold — Five  Guineas,  Two  Guineas,  Guinea, 
MARY.  and  Half-Guinea. 

Silver — Crown,    Half-Crown,    Shilling,    Six- 
pence,   and   Maundy   Groat,    Threepence, 
Half-Groat,  and  Penny. 
Copper  and  Tin — Halfpenny  and  Farthing. 
WILLIAM  III.  No  change. 

ANNE.  Gold — Five  Guineas,  Two  Guineas,  Guinea, 

and  Half- Guinea. 

Silver— Crown,    Half-Crown,    Shilling,    Six- 
pence, and,    Maundy    Groat,    Threepence, 
Half-Groat,  and  Penny. 
Copper — Halfpenny  and  Farthing  (patterns 

only). 
GEORGE  I.  Gold — Five  Guineas,  Two  Guineas,  Guinea, 

Half-Guinea,  and  Quarter-Guinea. 
Silver — Crown,    Half-Crown,    Shilling,    Six- 
pence,  and    Maundy    Groat,    Threepence, 
Half-Groat,  and  Penny. 


LIST  OF  ENGLISH  COINS  83 

GEORGE  I.  Copper — Halfpenny  and  Farthing. 
GEORGE  II.  Gold — Five  Guineas,  Two  Guineas,  Guinea, 
and  Half-Guinea. 

Silver — Crown,  Half-Crown,  Shilling,  Six- 
pence, and  Maundy  Groat,  Threepence, 
Half-Groat,  and  Penny. 

Copper — Halfpenny  and  Farthing. 

GEORGE  III.  Gold — Guinea,  Half-Guinea,  Quarter-Guinea, 
Third-Guinea  or  Seven  Shillings,  Sove- 
reign, and  Half-Sovereign. 

Silver — Crown,  Half-Crown,  Shilling,  Six- 
pence, and  Maundy  Groat,  Threepence, 
Half-Groat,  and  Penny. 

Copper — Twopence,  Penny,  Halfpenny,  and 

Farthing. 

GEORGE  IV.  Gold — Double-Sovereign,  Sovereign,  and 
Half- Sovereign. 

Silver — Crown,  Half-Crown,  Shilling,  Six- 
pence, and  Maundy  Groat,  Threepence, 
Half-Groat,  and  Penny. 

Copper — Penny,  Halfpenny,  and  Farthing. 
WILLIAM  IV.  Gold — Sovereign  and  Half-Sovereign. 

Silver — Half-Crown,  Shilling,  Sixpence, 
Groat,  and  Maundy  Groat,  Threepence, 
Half-Groat,  and  Penny. 

Copper — Penny,  Halfpenny,  and  Farthing. 
VICTORIA.  Gold — Five  Pounds,  Two  Pounds,  Sovereign, 
and  Half-Sovereign. 

Silver — Crown,  Double  Florin,  Half-Crown, 
Florin,  Shilling,  Sixpence,  Groat  or  Four- 
penny  Piece,  Threepence  ;  and  Maundy 
Groat,  Threepence,  Half-Groat,  and  Penny. 

Copper  and  Bronze — Penny,  Halfpenny,  and 
Farthing. 

It  is  understood  that  the  coins  of  King  Edward 
VII.  will  be  the  same  as  those  of  Queen  Victoria, 


84  THE  COINAGE  OF  BRITAIN 

omitting,  however,  the  double  florin  and  the  four- 
penny  piece. 

As  regards  the  sister  kingdoms,  the  first  Scotch 
coins  were  minted  in  the  reign  of  David  I.  (1124- 
1153).  It  consisted  of  pennies  copied  from  the 
contemporary  English  types.  Up  to  that  time 
Roman  and  Saxon  money  were  used.  The  Scotch 
standard  was  probably  at  first  the  same  as  the 
English,  but  the  silver  coins  gradually  became 
very  debased.  Coins  of  "  Billon  "  were  also  issued, 
but  this  is  only  a  name  for  much  debased  silver. 

Alexander  III.,  as  already  mentioned,  placed 
"  Dei  Gratia  "  on  his  coins  some  years  before  it 
was  adopted  in  England. 

The  first  gold  coins,  those  of  David  II.  (1329- 
1371),  were  copies  of  the  noble  of  Edward  III., 
but  not  so  well  executed.  One  of  the  issues  of 
farthings  is  peculiar  in  the  name  being  partly  on 
one  side  of  the  coin  and  partly  on  the  other ;  the 
obverse  having  "MONETA  REGIS  D,"  and  the  reverse, 
"  AVID  SCOTTORUM." 

James  V.  (1514-1542)  placed  a  date  on  his  coins 
of  1539,  eight  years,  therefore,  before  this  improve- 
ment was  adopted  in  England. 

The  coins  of  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  are  very 
varied,  and  gave  quite  an  epitome  of  her  troubled 
life. 


SCOTCH  COINS  85 

In  addition  to  coins  with  denominations  similar 
to  those  current  in  England,  Scotland  had  several 


FIGS.  119-120. — Ryat  of  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  1557  ;    gold  ; 
weight,  117  grs. 


terms  peculiar  to  herself.  One  of  these,  which 
often  appears  in  literature,  was  the  bawbee.  For 
this  several  derivations  have  been  suggested. 
Some  ascribe  it  to  the  young  or  baby  face  of 
Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  on  her  earlier  coins ;  some 
more  prosaically,  from  the  French  has  billon,  or 
basi  billon  ;  and  others  the  territorial  title,  "  Laird 
of  Sillibawbee,"  of  Alexander  Orrole,  the  moneyer. 
It  is  not,  however,  at  all  clear  that  he  was  the  first 
to  strike  these  coins,  and  it  cannot  be  said  that 
any  of  these  explanations  "  holds  the  field." 

The  "  plack,"  current  at  first  for  3d.,  was  raised 
to  8d.  in  the  reign  of  James  VI.  It  is  said  to 
derive  its  name  from  the  French  plaque. 


86  THE  COINAGE  OF  BRITAIN 

IRELAND. 

No  coins  were  struck  by  any  of  the  native  rulers 
of  Ireland.  The  first  were  those  of  the  Danish 
Prince  Sihtric  III.  (989-1029),  and  were  copied 
mainly  from  those  of  ^Ethelred  II.  of  Wessex. 
The  first  Anglo-Irish  coins,  but  struck  in  the  name 
of  his  son  John,  as  Lord  of  Ireland,  were  those  of 
Henry  II.  in  1 177. 

Figs.  1 21-122  represent  one  of  the  "  half-crowns  " 
struck  by  James  II.  in  1690,  in  Ireland,  and  which 


FlGS.  121-122. — James  II.  Gunmoney  ;    copper;  weight,  209  grs. 

were  known  as  "  gunmoney,"  because  they  were  in 
part  made  out  of  old  guns.  They  were  "proclaimed" 
to  pass  for  five  shillings ;  but  the  intrinsic  value 
being  nominal,  the  "  proclamation "  proved  use- 
less. Time,  however,  has  done  what  James  II. 
could  not,  and  they  are  now  worth  about  that 


IRISH  COINS  87 

sum.  Half-crowns,  shillings,  and  sixpences  were 
also  struck  in  the  same  manner.  This  money  was 
called  in  by  William  III.,  when  it  was  found  that 
metal  worth  £642  had  been  made  into  coin  of 
the  nominal  value  of  ,£22,500. 

The  harp  first  appeared  on  Irish  money  in  the 
reign  of  Henry  VIII.  These  were  the  coins  which 
raised  such  a  storm  of  passion,  and  were  so  fiercely 
attacked  by  Dean  Swift.  They  were,  however,  of 
good  metal ;  and  though  the  weight  was  not  quite 


FlGS.   123-124. — Wood's  Irish  Halfpenny  ;    copper;    1722; 
weight,  121  grs. 

whatsit  should  have  been  they  were  far  superior 
in  weight  and  fineness  to  the  Irish  coinage  under 
previous  Sovereigns.  The  last  Irish  coinage  were 
the  pennies  and  halfpennies  of  George  IV. 

Figs.  123-124  represent  one  of  Wood's  Irish  half- 
pennies, struck  in  1722.  On  the  reverse  is  Hibernia 
seated  and  holding  her  harp, 


PART    II 
CHAPTER  I 

WEIGHTS   OF   COINS 

THOUGH  coins  have  been  struck  of  very  different 
weights  and  values,  from  the  obol  to  the  dodeca- 
drachm,  from  the  farthing  to  the  five-pound  piece, 
still  those  of  each  metal  in  general  use  have  only 
differed  in  weight  within  somewhat  narrow  limits. 

As  regards  gold  coins,  our  sovereign  weighs 
I23TVw  grains,  of  which  113.001  grains  are  pure 
gold.  The  daric  weighed  128  grains  ;  the  stater 
of  Philip  of  Macedon  130;  the  ancient  British 
coin  (Fig.  67)  weighs  118.  The  German  20 
mark  piece  weighs  122.8  grains;  the  Turkish 
pound,  111.36;  the  napoleon,  99.6. 

Mr  W.  Ridgway  *  considers  that  the  weight  of 
the  early  gold  coins  was  originally  selected  as 
representing  the  value  of  an  average  ox.  This 
suggestion  is  certainly  ingenious.  The  size,  more- 

*  Origin  of  Currency  and  Weight  Standards.  1892, 

80  f 


90  WEIGHTS  OF  COINS 

over,  would  be  convenient.  Larger  coins  would 
be  cumbersome,  and  'seldom  required  for  the 
ordinary  transactions  of  life.  Small  gold  coins, 
on  the  other  hand,  suffer  unduly  from  wear  and 
tear,  and  are  inconvenient,  as  being  so  easily 
lost.  In  the  case  of  silver,  crowns  are  cumber- 
some and  heavy,  while  anything  below  a  three- 
penny bit  is  inconveniently  small.  To  preserve 
a  certain  size,  and  yet  have  a  silver  coin  of  very 
small  value,  many  ancient  coins  were  made  very 
thin. 

Within  the  limits  thus  determined,  however, 
we  find  innumerable  differences  in  the  weights 
of  coins,  and  a  general  tendency  downwards. 
There  are  three  ways  in  which  the  short-sighted 
avarice  of  rulers  and  of  legislatures  has  deterior- 
ated this  currency.  Firstly,  by  gradually  reduc- 
ing the  weight ;  secondly,  by  debasing  the 
standard;  and  thirdly,  by  the  issue  of  incon- 
vertible notes. 

The  history  of  coinage  is  indeed,  in  many 
cases,  a  melancholy  record  of  fraud,  folly,  and 
ignorance.  Take,  for  instance,  the  Roman  coinage. 
The  bronze  "as"  was  originally  a  pound,  but 
rapidly  fell  in  weight.  By  B.C.  268  it  had  fallen 
to  between  3  and  2  ounces;  fifty,  years  later, 
after  the  war  with  Hannibal,  it  was  reduced  to 
I  ounce,  though  it  is  only  fair  to  remember  that 


WEIGHTS  OF  COINS  91 

this  was  passed  as  a 'measure  of  desperate  neces- 
sity, when  Hannibal  was  at  the  gates  of  Rome, 
and  when  the  disasters  of  Lake  Thrasimene  and 
the  Trebia  had  brought  the  republic  to  the  very 
verge  of  ruin.  By  the  time  of  Augustus  the  "as'" 
was  reduced  to  about  the  size  of  a  farthing. 
The  Roman  <;  solidus  -'  gradually  fell  to  the  French 
"  sou,"  and  the  pound  Scot  to  one-twelfth  of  the 
original  weight. 

The  Saxon  shilling  was  not  a  coin,  but  merely 
a  money  of  account,  taken  sometimes,  as  for  'in- 
stance in  Wessex,  at  5,  and  sometimes,  as  in 
Mercia,  at  4  pence.  William  the  Conqueror  fixed 
the  Norman  shilling  at  12  pence. 

The  pound  weight  of  silver  was  originally 
coined  into  240  pence  of  24  grains  each  ;  William 
the  Conqueror  increased  the  number  to  256 
pennies,  Henry  VI L  to  480,  or  40  shillings, 
Elizabeth  to  62  shillings,  and  George  III.  to  66 
shillings,  or  792  pence. 

The  statute  of  weights  and  measures  of  1265 
enacted  that  the  penny  sterling  should  weigh 
32  grains  of  wheat,  round,  dry,  and  taken  from 
the  midst  of  the  ear ;  20  pence,  i  ounce  troy, 
and  12  ounces,  i  pound. 

The  first  coined  shilling — that  of  Henry  VII. 
— weighed  141.3  grains;  those  of  Henry  VIII., 
120.4;  under  Charles  I,  the  weight  was  reduced 


92  WEIGHTS  OF  COINS 

to    93    grains;   and  finally,  in   1816,  to  87.272,  at 
which  it  still  remains. 

The  sovereign,  as  originally  coined  (the  "  unite  " 
of  20  shillings),  weighed  240  grains.  In  the 
time  of  Charles  I.  it  had  fallen  to  139,  and  under 
George  III.  to  I23TVW  grains,  at  which  it  has  since 
remained. 

THE  STANDARD. 

As  already  mentioned,  gold,  silver,  and  copper 
are  on  the  whole  the  metals  most  suitable  for 
coins,  and  in  the  earliest  specimens,  were  almost 
pure,  that  is  to  say,  out  of  1000  parts  997  were 
pure  gold.  The  Macedonian  staters  of  Philip 
and  Alexander  were  .997  fine.  The  gold  of  the 
Roman  Republic  was  pure — the  aurei  of  Augustus 
.998,  and  the  Persian  darics  .958.  The  addition, 
however,  of  a  small  quantity  of  alloy  renders 
them  harder,  and  therefore  less  liable  to  wear 
and  tear.  The  addition  of  a  small  quantity  of 
alloy  openly,  and  for  such  a  purpose,  is  of 
course  unobjectionable.  The  temptation,  however, 
to  make  a  profit  by  tampering  with  the  standard, 
has  too  often  proved  irresistible.  The  imperial 
coinage  of  Rome,  for  instance,  did  not  long 
retain  the  high  standard  of  Augustus,  but 
became  more  and  more  debased,  and  after  the 
time  of  Severus  Alexander,  was  practically  copper 
with  a  mere  colouring  of  gold. 


THE  STANDARD  93 

In  our  own  case  the  gold  coins  of  Henry  III. 
were  of  fine  gold.  Edward  III.  introduced  the 
standard  of  23  carats,  3^  grains  gold  to  J  grain 
alloy,  and  this  was  retained  till  the  reign  of 
Henry  VIII.,  who  debased  the  coins  to  20 
carats.  Edward  VI.  restored  the  standard  to 
22  carats  gold  and  2  alloy,  at  which  it  has 
since  remained. 

As  regards  silver,  the  staters  of  ^Egina  were 
.960  fine  ;  the  Athenian  coinage,  .985.  The  just 
reputation  of  the  Athenian  coinage  for  purity 
of  metal  and  accuracy  of  weight,  gave  it  a  wide 
circulation,  and  rendered  it  inadvisable  to  alter 
the  form  for  fear  of  affecting  the  value.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  money  of  Phocaea  and  of 
Lesbos  was  notorious  for  its  bad  quality;  and 
indeed  the  steady  depreciation  of  the  currency 
throughout  most  of  the  Greek  world  was  deplor- 
able. The  Roman  Republican  silver  was  of  good 
quality,  but  under  the  Empire  it  became  terribly 
debased. 

In  our  own  coinage  it  is  remarkable  that  the 
Anglo-Saxon  silver  pennies  seem  to  have  been, 
with  some  exceptions,  intended  to  be  of  the 
same  standard  as  our  present  coins,  namely,  11 
ounces  and  2  pennyweights  fine,  and  18  penny- 
weights of  alloy.  The  earliest  record  of  this 
standard  of  fineness  is  indeed  in  the  time  of 


94  WEIGHTS  OF  COINS 

Edward  I.,  but  is  even  then  spoken  of  as  being 
of  great  antiquity.  It  remained  intact  till  the 
reign  of  Henry  VIII.,  who  debased  the  coins 
until  they  were  reduced  to  J  silver  and  f  alloy. 
The  coins  having  the  King's  full  face  soon  began 
to  show  the  inferior  metal  at  the  end  of  the-  nose, 
that  being  the  most  prominent  part,  whence  the 
king  received  the  nickname  of  "  Old  Copper 
Nose."  The  standard  was  again  raised  some- 
what by  Edward  VI.,  and  restored  by  Elizabeth 
to  the  ancient  rate  of  11  ounces  2  pennyweights 
silver  and  18  pennyweights  alloy,  or  37  parts 
of  silver  to  3  of  copper,  at  which  it  has  ever 
since  .remained. 

As  in  other  matters,  it  is  easy  to  debase  but 
much  more  difficult  to  restore.  All  the  more 
credit,  therefore,  to  those  among  our  Sovereigns, 
such  as  Edward  VI.  and  Elizabeth,  who  did 
so.  It  is,  moreover,  only  right  to  mention  that 
Elizabeth  appears  to  have  been  much  assisted 
by  the  wise  counsels  of  the  illustrious  Gresham. 

In  some  cases;  not  only  has  the  standard 
been  debased,  but  the  authorities  themselves 
have  actually  issued  false  coins.  Herodotus 
mentions,  though  with  some  doubt,  that  Poly- 
crates,  tyrant  of  Samos,  having  to  pay  a  large 
sum  -to  the  Lacedaemonians,  "  coined  a  large 
quantity  of  the  country  '  money  in  lead,  had 


FALSE  COINAGE  95 

it  gilt,  and  gave  it  to  them;  and  that  they, 
having  received  it,  thereupon  took  their  depar- 
ture." Greek  plated  coins  are  indeed  not  un- 
common, and,  among  the  Romans,  the  issue  of  a 
certain  number  of  plated  coins  from  time  to  time 
seems  to  have  been  regarded  as  a  legitimate 
source  of  national  revenue  !  *  From  this  point 
of  view  it  is  interesting  that  many  Greek  coins, 
which  are  anterior  to  the  time  of  the  Persian 
wars,  have  a  deep  slit  across  the  face.  These 
cuts  are  supposed  to  have  been  made  by  the 
Persians  to  test  the  quality  of  the  metal. 

In  the  above  cases  the  value  of  the  coins 
has  been  lowered  either  by  dishonest  legislation, 
or  by  the  legal,  perhaps,  but  unjust  and  unwise 
action  of  rulers. 

Even,"  however,  when  the  issuing  authorities 
were  honestly  desirous  of  maintaining  the  weight 
and  purity  of  the  coins,  it  has  been  found  far 
from  easy  to  do  so. 

In  our  own  history,  though  our  Sovereigns, 
with  a  few  disgraceful  exceptions,  maintained  the 
standard,  the  weight  of  the  coins  was  from  time 
to  time  reduced,  and  even  when  this  was  not 
nominally  done,  the  remedy,  as  it  is  technically 
called  (or  fraction  by  which  a  coin  is  allowed  to 
fall  below  the  standard  weight  without  being  dis- 
*  Hill,  Handbook  of  Greek  and  Roman  Coins,  p,  72... 


96  WEIGHTS  OF  COINS 

carded),  was  sometimes  increased;  and  though 
the  amount  on  each  coin  was  necessarily  small, 
still  substantial  sums  were  thus  in  certain  cases 
surreptitiously  obtained. 

Moreover,  in  early  times,  notwithstanding  the 
periodical  examinations  of  the  Pyx,  by  which 
the  weight  and  purity  of  the  coins  were,  and 
are,  tested  from  time  to  time — the  Pyx  being 
the  box  in  which  the  coins  to  be  examined 
were  placed — some  of  the  moneyers  enriched 
themselves  by  the  issue  of  debased  or  light 
coins. 

In  the  time  of  Henry  I.,  for  instance,  the 
coinage  was  so  bad  that,  in  1125,  Roger,  Bishop 
of  Salisbury,  summoned  all  the  moneyers  of 
England  to  Winchester,  at  Christmas,  when,  out 
of  97,  no  less  than  94  were  found  guilty,  deprived 
of  their  right  hand,  and  banished ;  three  only 
being  acquitted.  Again,  in  the  time  of  i  Edward 
VI.,  the  officers  of  the  mint,  with  William 
Sharington  at  their  head,  were  convicted  of  de- 
basing the-  coinage. 

Forgery  was  also  a  frequent  crime.  In 
Anglo-Saxon  times  it  was  punished  by  the  loss 
of  a  handj  to  which  Henry  I.  added  that  of  the 
eyes. 

Even  when  false  coinage  was  prevented,  and 
when  the  money  issued  from  the  mints  was 


CLIPPING  97 

good  and  true,  the  coins  current  were  often  very 
unsatisfactory.  Besides  the  loss  of  weight  due  to 
the  necessary  wear  and  tear,  it  was  found  almost 
impossible  to  prevent  them  from  being  "  clipped  " 
and  "  sweated."  Against  that  crime  strong  laws 
were  from  time  to  time  enacted  ;  it  was  treated 
as  treason,  and  punished  with  great  severity. 
Yet  many  persons  in  good  position,  and  even 
some  high  ecclesiastics,  were  proved  to  be 
guilty.  The  crime  was  facilitated  by  the  fact 
that  the  coins  of  the  realm  were  legal  tender, 
and  that  to  refuse  them  was  regarded  as  a  great 
offence.  Clipping  was  at  last  greatly  reduced  by 
the  introduction,  in  1663,  °f  milling  or  lettering 
the  edges  of  the  coins. 

Another  source  of  trouble  was  the  practical 
impossibility  of  maintaining  the  relative  value  of 
the  different  coins,  and  especially  those  of  gold 
and  silver  respectively.  The  value  of  the  two 
metals,  of  course,  fluctuated  considerably  ;  depend- 
ing on  the  supply  coming  from  the  mines,  and 
the  demands  not  only  for  coinage,  but  in  the 
arts. 

But  as  the  law  endeavoured  to  keep  the  coins 
at  their  relative  intrinsic  value,  and  as  they 
were  all  legal  tender  at  rates  fixed  by  law,  it 
followed  that,  as  soon  as  any  change  occurred 
in  the  relative  value  of  the  metals,  the  coins  which 

G 


98  WEIGHTS  OF  COINS 

were  over-rated  were  melted  down  or  exported. 
The  attempts  to  keep  both  the  silver  and  copper 
coins  intrinsically  equivalent  to  their  legal  value 
led  to  much  inconvenience.  For  instance,  in  1800, 
during  an  issue  of  copper  halfpence,  owing  to  an 
unexpected  rise  in  the  value  of  copper,  it  was 
.found  necessary  to  lower  the  weight  of  the  coin, 
and  to  issue  36  halfpence  to  the  pound  of  copper 
instead  of  32.  Again,  in  1805,  from  the  same 
cause,  the  greater  part  of  the  copper  coinage 
disappeared,  because,  when  melted  down,  the 
metal  was  worth  nearly  one-third  more  than 
the  legal  value.  These  considerations  show 
clearly  the  advantage  of  our  present  system, 
under  which  the  pound  sterling  is  the  standard, 
while  the  silver  and  copper  coins  are  tokens 
representing  certain  fractions  of  the  pound. 
There  are  indeed  few  other  countries  which  can 
be  said  to  have  a  satisfactory  coinage. 

It  is  not  indeed  sufficient  for  the  maintenance 
of  a  satisfactory  currency,  that  the  coins  should 
be  issued  of  the  proper  standard  and  full  weight. 
Even  apart  from  any  change  in  the  value  of  the 
metal,  from  any  illegal  clipping  or  sweating,  the 
fair  honest  wear  gradually  reduced  them  below 
the  proper  weight.  At  present,  many  of  the 
French  gold  pieces  are  below  their  legal  weight. 

As   regards   our   own    money,   the   standard   is 


THE  PRICE  OF  GOLD  99 

the  pound  sterling,  and  the  pound  sterling  is  a 
sovereign  of  the  proper  legal  weight.  But  if  a 
sovereign  has  fallen  below  this,  it  ceases  to  be 
legal  tender,  and  may  be  refused.  The  worn 
sovereigns,  however,  are  called  in  from  time  to 
time,  and  new  ones  are  being  almost  continu- 
ously issued. 

Standard  gold  is  coined  at  the  rate  of 
£3,  1 7s.  ioid.  an  ounce,  so  that  an  ounce  of 
pure  gold  gives  £4,  45.  u|d. 

The  sovereign  contains  123.27447  grains  of 
standard  gold.  The  shilling  contains  87.27272 
grains  of  standard  silver.  The  penny  contains 
145.833  grains  of  bronze,  which  itself  is  95  parts 
of  copper,  4  of  tin,  and  I  of  zinc. 

THE  PRICE  OF  GOLD. 

It  is  sometimes  asked  why  the  price  of  gold 
should  be  fixed  and  not  that  of  any  other  com- 
modity. This,  however,  shows  a  misapprehension 
of  what  is  really  done,  and  what  the  law  really  is. 

What  the  law  fixes  is  the  weight  of  the  sove- 
reign. An  ounce  of  standard  gold  is  coined  into 
£3,  173.  io|d.  Any  one  can  take  bar  gold  to 
.the  mint,  and  is  entitled  to  have  it  coined  free  of 
charge.  He  receives  back  in  due  course  the  same 
weight  of  gold.  The  process,  however,  takes  some 
time,  during  which,  of  course,  there  is  a  loss  of 


100  WEIGHTS  OF  COINS 

interest.  It  is,  therefore,  a  convenience  to  the 
importer  to  obtain  coin  at  once,  and  the  Bank  of 
England  is  bound,  by  the  Act  of  1844,  to  give  coin 
for  bar  gold  at  the  rate  of  £3,  175.  gd.  So  far, 
then,  as  the  price  can  be  said  to  be  fixed  at  all, 
it  is  the  price  of  bar  gold  which  is  fixed  in  coined 
gold. 

Our  silver  and  copper  coins,  as  already  mentioned, 
do  not  depend  for  their  value  on-  their  .material. 
They  are  tokens  representing  a  certain  fraction  of 
sovereign,  and,  indeed,  may  almost  be  said  to  be 
Government  notes  printed  on  metal.  I  say  almost, 
because  the  position  is  not  quite  logical.  The 
Government,  whatever  their  moral  responsibility 
may  be,  do  not  legally  bind  themselves  to  give  a 
sovereign  for  20  shillings  or  for  240  pence.  They 
maintain  the  -value  of  the  small  coins  by  limiting 
the  quantity,  and  call  them  in  from  time  to  time, 
giving  the  full  nominal  value. 

In  this  way  we  secure  an  admirable  and  elastic 
system,  and  our  standard  coin,  the  sovereign,  is 
known  and  respected  all  over  the  world ;  it  may  be 
fairly  said  to  be  the  premier  coin  and  standard  of 
the  world,  while  at  the  same  time  we  have  a 
supply  of  small  change  which  is  abundant  and  not 
redundant.  No  one  can  realise  the  convenience 
of  our  monetary  system  who  has  not  travelled  in 
foreign  countries,  and  who  has  not  found  himself 


BRITISH  CURRENCY  101 

sometimes  in  a  difficulty  to  procure  small  change, 
and  at  others  encumbered  by  a  number  of  small 
coins  or  notes  which  he  could  only  dispose  of 
at  a  heavy  loss. 

OUR  CURRENCY. 

Our  currency,  therefore,  consists  —  Firstly,  of 
gold,  which  is  legal  tender  for  any  amount ; 
secondly,  of  silver  coins,  which  are  tokens  repre- 
senting fractions  of  the  pound  sterling,  and  are 
only  legal  tender  up  to  40  shillings ;  thirdly,  of 
bronze  coins,  also  tokens,  and  only  legal  tender 
up  to  one  shilling ;  and  lastly,  of  bank  notes, 
which  are  issued  by  the  Bank  of  England,  some 
English  country  banks,  and  Scotch  and  Irish 
banks.  Bank  of  England  notes  are  legal  tender 
to  any  extent,  except  by  the  bank  itself,  which 
is  bound  to  pay  them  in  gold  on  demand. 


CHAPTER  II 

BANK-NOTES   AND   BANKING 

THE  use  of  paper  as  an  instrument  of  credit  and 
a  form  of  currency  is  involved  in  much  obscurity. 
A  passage  in  ^Eschines  *  seems  to  indicate  that 
the  Carthaginians  possessed  a  form  of  currency 
making  some  approximation  to  a  bank-note.  The 
Carthaginians,  he  says,  "  make  use  of  the  following 
kind  :  in  a  small  piece  of  leather  a  substance  is 
wrapped  of  the  size  of  a  piece  of  four  drachmae  ; 
but  what  this  substance  is  no  one  knows  except 
the  maker.  After  this  it  is  sealed  and  issued  for 
circulation ;  and  he  who  possesses  the  most  of  this 
is  regarded  as  having  the  most  money,  and  as 
being  the  wealthiest  man.  But  if  any  one  among 
us  had  ever  so  much,  he  would  be  no  richer  than 
if  he  possessed  a  quantity  of  pebbles."  "  It 
follows,"  says  Heeren,  "from  this  description, 
that  this  money  (which,  therefore,  by  others  is 
improperly  called  leather-money)  was  not,  like 

*  ^schines,  Dialogi  c.  Fisheri,  p.  78,  ed.  3. 
102 


PAPER  MONEY  IN  CHINA  103 

the  small  coins,  composed  of  copper  or  bronze, 
which  would  pass  only  for  their  intrinsic  worth  ; 
but  rather  a  representative  of  specie,  upon  which 
a  fictitious  value  was  bestowed  in  circulation,  and 
which,  therefore,  out  of  Carthage  was  of  no  value. 
Another  fact  may  be  gathered  from  this  descrip- 
tion, namely,  that  it  was  only  under  the  authority 
of  the  state  that  this  money  was  stamped  and 
issued."  * 

By  some  writers  the  use  of  the  bank-note  is 
regarded  as  one  of  the  inventions  which  we 
appear  to  owe  to  the  genius  of  the  Chinese. 
Some  writers  regard  paper  currency  as  having 
originated  about  B.C.  119,  in  the  reign  of  Emperor 
Outi.  At  this  time  the  court  was  in  want 
of  money,  and  to  raise  it,  Klaproth  tells  us 
that  the  Prime  Minister  hit  upon  the  following 
device.  When  any  princes  or  courtiers  entered 
the  imperial  presence,  it  was  customary  to  cover 
the  face  with  a  piece  of  skin.  It  was  first  decreed, 
then,  that  for  this  purpose  the  skin  of  certain 
white  deer  kept  in  one  of  the  royal  parks  should 
alone  be  permitted,  and  then  these  pieces  of  skin 
were  sold  for  a  high  price.  But  although  they 
appear  to  have  passed  from  one  noble  to  another, 
they  do  not  seem  ever  to  have  entered  into  general 
circulation. 

*  Heeren's  Historical  Researches,  vol.  i.,  p.  146. 


104  BANK-NOTES  AND  BANKING 

One  of  the  earliest  mentions  in  European  litera- 
ture of  paper,  or  rather  cotton,  money,  appears  to  be 
by"Rubruquis,  a  monk,  who  was  sent  by  St  Louis, 
in  the  year  1262,  to  the  court  of  the  Mongol 
Prince,  Mangu-Khan,  but  he  merely  mentions 
the  fact  of  its  existence.  Marco  Polo,  who  resided 
from  1275  to  1 284  at  the  court  of  Kublai-Khan — I 
do  not  know  whether  in 

"  the  stately  pleasure  dome 
Where  Alph,  the  sacred  river,  ran 
Through  caverns  measureless  to  man, 
Down  to  a  sunless  sea," — 

gives  us  a  longer  and  interesting  account  of  the 
note  system,  which  he  greatly  admired,  and  he 
concludes  by  saying,  "  Now  you  have  heard  the 
ways  and  means  whereby  the  great  Khan  may 
have,  and,  in  fact,  has,  more  treasure  than  all  the 
kings  in  the  world.  You  know  all  about  it,  and 
the  reason  why."  But  this  apparent  facility  of 
creating  money,  led,  in  the  East,  as  it  has  else- 
where, to  great  abuses.  Sir  J.  Mandeville,  who 
was  in  Tartary  shortly  afterwards,  in  1322,  tells  us 
that  this  "  Emperour  (the  great  Khan)  may  dis- 
penden  als  moche  as  he  wile  withouten  estyma- 
cioun.  For  he  despendeth  not,  ne  maketh  no 
money,  but  of  lether  emprented,  or  of  papyre.  .  .  . 
For  there  and  beyonde  hem  thei  make  no  money 
nouther  of  gold  nor  of  sylver.  And  therefore  he 


PAPER  MONEY  IN  EUROPE  105 

may  despende  ynow  and  outrageously.  .  .  ."  The 
great  Khan  seems  to  have  been  himself  of  the 
same  opinion.  He  appears  to  have  "despent 
outrageously,"  and  the  value  of  his  paper  money 
fell  to  a  very  small  fraction  of  its  nominal  amount, 
causing  great  discontent  and  misery. 

The  value  of  the  notes  fell,  until  it  took  11,000 
min,  or  ^3000  in  nominal  amount,  to  buy  a 
cake  of  rice !  This  created  so  much  dissatisfac- 
tion that  the  use  of  notes  was  abandoned,  and 
indeed  so  completely  forgotten,  that  the  Jesuit 
father,  Gabriel  de  Magailano,  who  resided  at 
Pekin  about  1668,  observes  that  there  is  no  recol- 
lection of  paper  money  having  ever  existed  in  the 
manner  described  by  Marco  Polo.  Two  centuries 
later  indeed  we  find  it  again  in  use.  It  must  be 
observed,  however,  that  these  Chinese  bank-notes 
differed  from  ours  in  one  essential,  namely,  they 
wrere  not  payable  at  sight.  Western  notes,  even 
when  not  payable  at  all,  have  generally  purported 
to  be  exchangeable  at  the  will  of  the  holder,  but 
this  principle  the  Chinese  did  not  adopt,  and  their 
notes  were  only  payable  at  certain  specified 
periods.  They  were  therefore  not  bank-notes  in 
our  sense  of  the  term,  but  rather  long-dated  bills. 

The  bank-note  is  regarded  by  others  as  a  Swedish 
invention.  The  first  bank  in  Sweden  was  founded 
in  1656  by  a  Swede  named  Palmstruck,  and  is 


106  BANK-NOTES  AND  BANKING 

said  to  have  issued  bank-notes  in  1658.  An 
enquete  made  by  the  French  Government  in 
1729  recognises  the  priority  of  Sweden  in  this 
matter,  and  declares  the  bank-note  to  be  an 
admirable  Swedish  invention,  designed  to  facilitate 
commerce."* 

It  does  not,  however,  seem  clear  how  far  these 
either  were  true  bank-notes  in  the  present  sense 
of  the  term.  The  issue  of  real  bank-notes  may,  I 
think,  be  said  to  date  from  the  foundation  of  the 
Bank  of  England.  The  charter  was  signed  on  the 
27th  July  1694.  On  the  same  afternoon  the  Direc- 
tors met,  and  immediately  proceeded  to  discuss  "the 
method  of  giving  receipts  for  running  cash,"  and 
the  minutes  of  the  meeting,  for  which  I  am  indebted 
to  the  Governor  and  Directors  of  the  bank,  and 
which  are  now  for  the  first  time  published,  will, 
I  am  sure,  be  read  with  interest. 

"  The  method  of  giving  receipts  for  running 
cash  was  debated,  whether  one  certain  method 
or  more  than  one  should  be  observed,  and  what 
method  in  particular ;  and  there  were  pro- 
posed :— 

"  i.  By  keeping  accompts  in  books  with  the 
creditors. 

"  2.  By  endorsing  notes  given. 

*  R.  H.  Inglis  Palgrave,  "  Notes  on  Banking,"  Jour. 
Statist.  Soc.,  vol.  xxxvi.,  1873. 


ENGLISH  BANK  NOTES  107 

"  3.  By  charging  notes  on  the  bank. 

"And  upon  putting  the  question  after  a  long 
debate,  it  was  resolved  that  these  three  methods 
shall  be  observed,  and  none  other : — 

"  i.  To  give  out  running  cash  notes,  and  to 
endorse  on  them  what  is  paid  off  in  part. 

"  2.  To  keep  an  accompt  with  the  creditor  in  a 
book  or  paper  of  his  owne. 

"  3.  To  accept  notes  drawn  on  the  bank. 

"And  it  is  ordered  that  no  creditor  shall  use 
any  two  of  the  said  methods,  but  if  having  used 
one  of  them,  he  shall  think  fitt  to  change  it  for 
another  ;  giving  notice  thereof  to  the  Court,  he 
is  at  liberty  to  use  any  one  of  the  said  methods." 

It  will  be  observed  that  these  notes  or  receipts 
were  given  for  odd  amounts,  and  were  paid  off  by 
degrees  to  suit  the  convenience  of  the  holder. 

The  first  reference  to  a  note  of  which  the 
amount  was  printed,  as  well  as  the  body  of  the 
note,  occurs  in  May  1695,  as  shown  in  the  Minutes 
of  Court,  dated  the  1st  and  2nd  May. 

The  denominations  which  seem  to  have  been 
first  in  regular  circulation  were — £10,  £15,  £2$, 
£30,  and  £50. 

These  appear  to  have  been  the  first  notes 
printed  from  copper  plates,  and  were  issued 
in  1725. 

The  first  £5  note  was  dated  April    1793,  and 


108  BANK-NOTES  AND  BANKING 

the  first  ;£iooo  in   October    1802— less  than  one 
hundred  years  ago. 

The  earliest  "Note"  in  the  bank's  possession 
is,  as  far  as  is  decipherable,  in  the  following 
terms  : — 

London,  ye  ivth  June  1697. 
Received  of  Capt.  .  .  .  Bas.  .  .  .  P.  .  .  .  a  .  .  .  . 

forty  seavon  pounds  nine  shillings 

. Current  mony 

.  .  ............  for  which  I  promise  to  be  accountable 


For  the  Governor  and  Company  of  the 
Bank  of  England. 

The  next  specimen  reads  thus  : — 

r.v.'  ....  1-699.  •  •  •  -.^':: 
No.  163. 

1  promise  to  pay  to  Mr  John  Wright  .  .  .  or  Bearer 
on  demand  the  Summe  of  Two  hundred  pounds. 

London,  the  2$rd  day  of  J any- 1699. 
^200. 

For  the  Governor  and  Company 

of  the  Bank  of  England. 

JOSEPH. 

The  framework  of  these  notes  is  printed  ;    the 
date,  name,  and  amount  are  in  manuscript. 


EARLY  BANK  NOTES  109 

The  earliest  account  book  the  bank  possesses  is 
a  "  Clearer  "  (i.e.,  an  abstract  of  outstanding 
notes,  made  apparently  subsequent  to  1764,  at 
which  time  the  original  books  were  probably 
destroyed).  The  "  Clearer  "  dates  from  the 
26th  March  1697.  The  amounts  vary  from  6d. 
to  £500,  and  in  many  cases  bear  the  memo- 
randum "pt.  £  .  .  ."  They  are  records  of  notes 
wholly  or  partly  unpaid.  Most  have  names 
attached  to  them  ;  a  few  have  not.  The  second 
entry  in  the  books,  for  instance,  reads  :— 

1699-1700,  2nd  Jan.     Sam1-  Pitts  £10. 
5s-  3d. 


Up  to  the  year  1764  there  is  no  record  (acces- 
sible at  the  moment)  of  any  classification. 

The  first  note  in  existence  (so  far  as  is  known) 
in  which  the  amount  is  (partly)  printed,  is  one  of 
the  28th  July  1736;  the  word  "Twenty"  is 
printed,  and  the  words  "  five  pounds,"  which 
follow,  are  written.  This  note  actually  remained 
unpaid  until  1847,  when  it  was  presented  and 
paid. 

There  is  also  a  note  extant,  dated  2Oth  January 
1748,  in  which  the  amount  "Fifty"  is  printed, 
though  the  succeeding  word  "  pounds  "  is 
written. 

Bank-notes   are,    no   doubt,   a   very    useful    in- 


110  BANK-NOTES  AND  BANKING 

vention,  but  like  many  other    good    things,   they 
are  liable  to  be  misused. 

The  over-issue  of  the  above-mentioned  Chinese 
paper  money  (if  so  it  can  be  called),  and  its 
consequent  depreciation,  which  probably  led  to 
the  abandonment  of  the  system,  is  a  case  in 
point,  and  the  depreciation  of  the  French 
assignats  is  another  instance.  We  constantly 
see,  as  regards  various  foreign  countries — and 
the  South  American  Republics,  with  certain 
exceptions,  such  as  Chili  and  Uruguay,  are 
flagrant  examples — that  gold  is  at  such  and  such 
a  premium.  In  truth,  however,  it  is  the  paper 
money  which  is  depreciated. 

Even  in  our  own  history  we  find  such  a  case. 
In  1797  the  Bank  of  England  was  authorised  to 
suspend  the  payment  of  their  notes.  For  some 
time,  owing  to  the  just  confidence  felt  in  that 
great  Institution,  the  notes  retained  their  value  in 
relation  to  coin.  The  amount  in  circulation, 
however,  was  raised,  and  a  gradually  increasing 
difference  became  apparent.  At  length,  in  1811, 
Lord  King  gave  notice  to  his  tenants  that  he 
would  "no  longer  consent  to  receive  any  bank- 
notes at  their  nominal  value,"  but  would  insist 
on  his  rents  being  paid  in  gold.  This  brought 
matters  to  a  head,  and  a  law  was  hurriedly 
passed,  making  Bank  of  England  notes  legal 


SUSPENSION  OF  CASH  PAYMENTS      111 

tender.  They  therefore  became  the  standard,  and 
gold  coins  went  to  a  continually  increasing 
premium.  This  occasioned  much  inconvenience, 
and  a  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons 
was  appointed  to  consider  the  subject.  They 
reported  that  the  difference  in  value  between 
gold  and  notes  was  due  to  the  increased 
issue  of  the  latter,  and  this  was  certainly  the 
correct  explanation;  yet  how  much  the  true 
principles  of  currency  have  been  misunderstood 
we  may  see  from  the  criticism  of  this  report, 
even  by  so  high  an  authority  as  Ruding. 

He  maintains  *  that  it  was  mainly  due  to  "  the 
legal  regulations  of  the  mint,  which  confines  the 
bullion,  after  it  has  been  coined  into  money,  to 
a  certain  value,  but  which  have  no  power  over 
marketable  bullion.  ...  As  the  gold  coin  is 
thus  fixed  at  three  pounds  seventeen  shillings 
and  tenpence  halfpenny  the  ounce,  it  is  rather 
a  matter  of  wonder  that  the  Committee  should 
be  surprised  at  the  ounce  in  coin  not  being 
equal  to  an  ounce  in  bullion,  when  that  happens 
to  be  worth  four  pounds  and  upwards.  .  .  .  The 
truth  is  that  the  pound  sterling  is  our  actual 
measure  in  this  kingdom,  and  that  the  coin  is  only 
an  instrument  by  which  that  measure  is  applied." 

But  this  raises  Sir  Robert  Peel's  celebrated 
*  Annals  of  the  Coinage  of  Great  Britain, 


112  BANK-NOTES  AND  BANKING 

question,  "  What  is  a  Pound  ? "  The  answer, 
happily,  is  clear.  The  pound  sterling  is  a  gold 
coin  of  a  specified  weight  and  fineness.  The 
House  of  Commons  Committee  were  undoubtedly 
right  that  the  difference  between  the  coin  and 
the  notes  was  due  to  the  fact  that  the  number 
of  the  latter  in  circulation  was  greater  than  the 
circumstances  of  the  country  required.  If  they 
had  been  payable  in  gold  they  would  have  been 
presented  for  redemption,  but  as  the  Bank  of 
England  was  relieved  from  the  necessity  of 
paying ,  its  notes,  and  as  the  notes  were  re- 
dundant, they  necessarily  fell  in  value.  In  such 
cases,  as  already  mentioned,  it  is  not  the  gold 
which  has  risen,  but  the  notes  which  have  fallen. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  steps  were  taken  to 
diminish  the  notes  in  circulation,  and  cash  pay- 
ments were  resumed  in  1821. 

So  great,  indeed,  is  the  temptation  to  meet 
pecuniary  difficulties  by  the  issue  of  paper  money, 
that  the  wisest  countries  have  hesitated  to  entrust 
their  Governments  with  so  dangerous  a  preroga- 
tive, and  have  left  the  management  of  the  paper 
issues  in  the  hands  of  banks,  such  as  the  Bank 
of  England,  the  Bank  of  France,  or  the  Bank  of 
Italy,  to  which  the  issue  has  been  entrusted,  and 
which  are  bound  to  pay  these  notes  in  coin  on 
demand. 


DEPRECIATION  OF  THE  BANK-NOTE     113 

It  has  generally,  however,  been  found  wise  that 
even  these  great  and  well-managed  institutions 
should  be  more  or  less  under  the  control  of 
law. 

It  was  for  a  long  time,  and  even  indeed  within 
the  last  hundred  years,  supposed  that  the  rate  of 
interest  depended  on  the  scarcity  or  abundance 
of  money,  an  extraordinary  fallacy  when  it  is 
remembered  that  the  interest  itself  was  payable 
in  money.  Acting  on  this  theory,  if,  from  bad 
harvests  or  any  other  cause,  the  precious  metals 
were  exported  and  the  rate  of  interest  rose,  more 
paper  money  was  issued.  The  result  was  that 
more  coin  was  exported,  and  still  more  paper 
money  was  issued,  until  at  last  the  reserve  of 
gold  was  so  dangerously  reduced,  that  a  state 
of  panic  was  produced.  It  was  not  till  nearly 
the  middle  of  the  last  century  that  the  true 
remedy  for  the  export  of  coin  was  realised, 
namely,  to  raise  the  rate  of  interest  in  good 
time,  and  thus  prevent  capital  from  leaving 
the  country,  or,  if  necessary,  attract  it  from 
abroad. 

The  temptation,  however,  to  meet  adverse 
exchanges  by  the  issue  of  paper,  and  the  reluct- 
ance to  keep  down  the  rate  of  interest,  were 
great,  and  accordingly,  Sir  Robert  Peel,  under 
the  wise  advice  of  Mr  George  Warde  Norman 

H 


114  BANK-NOTES  AND  BANKING 

and  Lord  Overstone,  introduced  the  Bank  Act  of 
1844,  the  object  of  which  was  to  keep  the 
currency  in  a  healthy  condition,  and  to  prevent 
any  over-issue  of  notes,  by  regulations  which 
would  secure -that  the  amount  of  notes  and  gold 
in  circulation  should  fluctuate  as  the  quantity  of 
gold  would,  if  there  were  no  bank-notes. 

•  It  was  considered  that  the  circulation  of  notes 
would  never,  under  any  circumstances,  fall  below 
£14,000,000;  and  accordingly  the  Bank  of  Eng- 
land was  authorised  to  issue  £14,000,000  notes 
against  securities,  while  against  any  extra  amount 
gold  was  to  be  held.  The  circulation  of  notes 
of  country  banks  was  also  fixed,  and  it  was  pro- 
vided that  if  any  of  these  banks  ceased  to  issue 
notes,  a  certain  proportion  of  the  circulation  so 
lapsing  might  be  added  to  the  £14,000,000 
issued  by  the  Bank  of  England  against  securities. 
The  addition  thus  made  now  amounts  to 
£3,775,000,  so  that  the  total  issued  against 
securities  is  £i7,775,ooo,  and  everything  above 
this  must  be  represented  by  coin  or  bullion. 

The  Bank  of  England  was  divided  into  two 
departments  :  an  issue  department  and  a  banking 
department — the  first  entrusted  with  the  manage- 
ment of  the  bank-notes ;  the  second  doing  ordi- 
nary banking  business. 

These  provisions,  though  much  criticised,  have 


THE  BANK  ACT  115 

stood  the  test  of  time  and  are  now  generally 
approved.  They  have  created  a  reserve  of  gold 
which  has  only  twice  been  touched,  to  a  small 
extent,  and  for  a  few  weeks.  That  the  reserve 
has  on  two  occasions  been  so  utilised,  has  indeed 
been  brought  forward  as  an  argument  against 
the  Act.  But  it  would  be  as  logical  to  say  that 
the  provision  of  a  reservoir  of  water  had  failed, 
because  on  two  occasions  some  of  the  water  had 
been  used. 

Some  time,  indeed,  elapsed  before  the  working 
of  the  Bank  Act  was  properly  understood.  The 
increase  of  the  rate  of  interest  will  always  turn 
the  exchanges  and  bring  capital  into  the  country ; 
but  this  takes  time ;  and  the  directors  of  the 
Bank  of  England,  reluctant  to  increase  the  charge 
on  the  mercantile  community,  on  more  than  one 
occasion  delayed  raising  the  rate  too  long,  and 
then  put  it  up  too  rapidly.  This  created  alarm, 
gave  rise  to  hoarding,  and  thus  aggravated  the 
evil. 

The  Act  is  now,  however,  better  understood ; 
the  rate  is  raised  in  good  time ;  for  many  years 
a  rate  of  5  per  cent,  (or  6  per  cent.*  on  one  or 
two  cases  for  a  short  time)  has  proved  sufficient  ; 
and  though  we  cannot  hope  altogether  to  avoid 
times  of  pressure  in  the  future,  they  will  probably 
not  be  due  to  any  alarm  as  to  the  currency. 


•116 


BANK-NOTES  AND  BANKING 


I   subjoin   one  of  the   periodical   Bank   returns, 
— the  last  one  of  last  year. 

BANK   RETURN. 

BANK  OF  ENGLAND. — Weekly  Account. 
[In  round  thousands.] 

An  Account  pursuant  to  the  Act  7th  and  8th  Victoria, 
cap.  32,  for  the  week  ending  on  Tuesday,  24th 
December  1901. 

ISSUE  DEPARTMENT. 


Notes  Issued ,£47,824,000 


,£47,824,000 


Government 

Debt £11,015,000 

Other  Securities  6,760,000 
Gold  Coin  and 

Bullion 30,049,000 


,£47,824,000 


Proprietor's 


BANKING  DEPARTMENT. 

Government 


Capital. . , ,£i4,55 3>°°°          Securities £  1 7,476,000 

Rest 3,178,000   |   Other  Securities.    29,055,000 


Public  Deposits..  10,742,000 

Other  Deposits...  37,600,000 
Seven  -  day    and 

other  Bills 143,000 


,£66,216,000 


Notes  17,669,000 

Gold  and  Silver 

Coin...  2,016,000 


,£66,216,000 


From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  the  total 
amount  of  notes  issued  was,  on  the  24th  Decem- 
ber 1901,  £47,824,000,  of  which  £30,049,000  was 


THE  BANK  RETURN  117 

against  gold,  and  ,£17,775,060  against  securities. 
In  the  improbable  event  of  there  being  any  de- 
ficiency, it  would  be  made  good  out  of  the  capital 
of  the  bank. 

As  regards  the  banking  department  of  the  bank, 
the  capital  of  the  bank  is  £14,553,000;  the  reserve 
fund,  or  undivided  profits,  £3,178,000;  the  amount 
due  to  Government  departments  was  £10,742,000; 
due  to  private  depositors,  £37,600,000;  due  on 
bills,  £143,000:  making  together,  £66,216,000. 

Against  this  the  bank  held  Government  securi- 
ties, £17,476,000;  other  securities,  £29,655,000; 
bank  -  notes  (part  of  the  above  amount), 
£17,669,000;  and  gold  and  silver  coins, 
£2,016,000. 

In  1775  bankers  were  prohibited  by  Act  of 
Parliament  from  issuing  notes  of  less  than  2Os., 
and  in  1777,  of  less  amount  than  £5.  This  led 
to  much  inconvenience,  to  obviate  which  the 
London  bankers  invented  cheque-books,  which 
were  first  issued  in  1781,  and  thus  founded 
banking  in  its  present  form. 

ON  COMMERCE  AND  BANKING  IN  ANCIENT 
TIMES. 

The  works  of  Heeren,  MacPherson,  and  others, 
contain  admirable  summaries  of  the  exchange  of 


118  BANK-NOTES  AND  BANKING 

.commodities  in  ancient  times,  and  the  transfer  of 
various  products  from  one  country  to  another ; 
but  as  to  the  manner  in  which  the  accounts  were 
kept,  and  the  balances  adjusted,  whether  and  to 
what  extent  credit  was  given,  whether  bills  of 
exchange  in  any  form*  existed  —  in  fact,  in 
what  manner  the  mechanism  of  business  was 
-carried  on,  we  have  unfortunately  very  little  in- 
formation. 

The  excavations  in  Assyria  and  Babylonia  have, 
however,  thrown  some  light  on  the  subject,  and 
afforded  us  some  interesting  information  as  to 
the  commercial  arrangements  of  these  countries, 
and  we  now  possess  a  considerable  number  of 
receipts,  contracts,  and  other  records  relating  to 
loans  of  silver  on  personal  securities  at  fixed 
rates  of  interest;  loans  on  landed  or  house 
property ;  sales  of  land,  in  one  case  with 
a  plan ;  sales  of  slaves,  marriage  settlements, 
etc.  These  were  engraved  on  tablets  of  clay, 
which  were  then  baked.  Some  of  those  in  the 
British  Museum  are  considered  to  go  back  to 
B.C.  3000. 

The  earliest  banking  firm  of  which  we  have 
any  account  is  said  to  be  that  of  Egibi  & 
Company,  for  our  knowledge  of  whom  we  are 
indebted  to  Mr  Boscawen,  Mr  Pinches,  and  Mr 
Hilton  Price,  Several  documents  and  records 


BANKING  IN  ANCIENT  TIMES  119 

belonging  to  this  family  are  in  the  British 
Museum.  They  are  on  clay  tablets,  and  were 
discovered  in  an  earthenware  jar,  found  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Hillah.  a  few  miles  from 
Babylon.  The  house  is  said  to  have  acted  as 
a  sort  of  national  bank  of  Babylon  ;  the  founder 
of  the  house,  Egibi,  probably  lived  in  the  reign 
of  Sennacherib,  about  B.C.  700.  This  family  has 
been  traced  during  a  century  and  a  half,  and 
through  five  generations,  down  to  the  reign  of 
Darius.  At  the  same  time,  the  tablets  hitherto 
translated  scarcely  seem  to  me  to  prove  that 
the  firm  acted  as  bankers,  in  our  sense  of  the 
word. 

I  give  below  the  contents  of  three  such 
tablets  in  my  own  collection,  kindly  translated 
for  me  by  Mr  Pinches.  The  first  runs  as 
follows  : — 

"  Loan  of  2/3  of  a  mana  of  coined  (?)  silver,  by  Nabu-sum- 
iukum  to  Ban'isat,  daughter  of  Nabu-usatu,  at  an  interest  of 
one  shekel  monthly  upon  the  mana. 

"  4th  day  of  Sivan,  8th  year  of  Darius." 

The  "  mana "  contained  60  shekels,  so  that  the 
rate  of  interest  was  very  high/  There  were  two 
Babylonian  silver  shekels.  The  heavy  shekel 
weighed  2.1.80  to  21.90  grammes;  the  light  one 
10.90  to  10.95  grammes. 


120  BANK-NOTES  AND  BANKING 

-  The  second  tablet  runs  :• — 

"  Loan  of  five  mana  of  silver  by  Nabu-zer-iddin,  '  chief  of 
the  dagger-bearers7  (rab-nas-patrutu)  to  Belnasir.  The 
money  to  be  repaid  in  instalments  of  a  shekel  and  a  half, 
beginning  in  Nisan. 

"  1 5th  day  of  Tebet,  34th  year  of  Nebuchadnezzar." 

The  third  relates  not  to  money,  but  to  corn, 
and  it  will  be  observed  that,  in  this  case,  the 
full  Amount,  and  the  full  amount  only,  is  to  be 
returned  : — 

"  Loan  of  corn  by  Labasi  to  Baba,  daughter  of  Nabuikisa. 
4  She  shall  pay  it  back,  in  its  full  amount,  this  month.7  6th 
day  of  Tisri,  I3th  year  of  Nabonidus." 

It  must  be  admitted  that  these  three  documents, 
• — from  the  Government  Record  Office  in  Babylon 
—  some  of  the  earliest  actual  business  documents 
which  have  come  down  to  us,  are  admirably  plain, 
simple,  and  business  -  like.  One  consideration, 
however,  which  I  think  would  strike  any  modern 
man  of  business,  is  a  feeling  of  wonder  that  it 
should  be  worth  while  to  record  such  small  trans- 
actions on  solid  tablets,  and  still  more  that  it 
should  be  found  desirable  to  deposit  them  in  a 
Government  office.  In  London  we  should  regard 
such  a  system  as  one  of  exaggerated  caution.  In 
fact,  most  transactions  are  effected  by  word  of 
inouth,  recorded  at  first  on  mere  slips  of  paper,  if 


GREEK  BANKERS  121 

at  all,  and  only  reduced  subsequently  to  a  formal 
document.  Such  a  system  is,  of  course,  only 
consistent  with  good  faith  as  between  man  and 
man.  It  is  a  well-known  saying  that  if  a  man 
cheats  you  he  is  to  blame ;  but  if  he  cheats  you 
twice,  you  are  yourself  to  blame. 

In  Greece  the  original  business  of  bankers  seems 
to  have  consisted  in  changing  money  for  foreigners, 
but  they  soon  commenced  banking  and  allowing 
interest  on  deposits.  We  are  incidentally  informed 
that  the  father  of  Demosthenes  kept  part  of  his 
fortune  with  one  of  these  "  trapezitae,"  or  bankers. 
Some  of  them  enjoyed  considerable  credit.  Pasion, 
for  instance,  we  are  told,  was  well  known  and 
trusted  all  over  Greece.  The  ordinary  rates  of 
interest  were  very  high,  and  will  not  at  all  bear 
comparison  with  those  of  the  present  day,  as  they 
ranged  from  10  to  37  per  cent. ;  but  the  risks  also 
must  have  been  extreme,  and  notwithstanding 
this  large  rate  of  interest  their  profits  seem  to 
have  been  small.  Even  Pasion's  business  is  said 
to  have  been  worth  but  ^400  a  year,  which  appears 
scarcely  credible.  The  Greek  bankers  seem  to  have 
been  as  much  notaries  as  bankers,  and  a  large  part 
of  their  business  consisted  in  witnessing  contracts 
between  others.  They  were  acquainted  with  letters 
of  credit,  and  had  even  invented  a  form  of  endorse- 
ment. Thus  Jceratus,  we  read,  drew  in  Athen.s  a 


122  BANK-NOTES  AND  BANKING 

bill  on  his  father  in  Pontus,  which  was  guaranteed 
by  Pasion,  and  then  bought  by  Stratocles.  Bottomry 
bonds  also  were  in  use.  It  is  often  said  that  the 
great  banks  of  Greece  were  the  temples,  but  I  con- 
fess I  have  my  doubts  about  this.  No  doubt  they 
served  in  some  cases  as  national  treasuries,  and 
there  are  some  references  in  history  to  deposits 
being  made  in  the  temples,  but  there  is  a  second 
and  not  less  important  function  of  banks,  viz.  : 
repayment  of  deposits,  as  to  -which  the  evidence 
is  very  deficient. 

The  Greeks  appear  to  have  introduced  bank- 
ing into  -Italy — at  least  if  we  may  judge  from  the 
fact  that  in  early  Latin  writers  most  of  the  words  re- 
lating to  banking  and  finance  are  of  Greek  origin, 
and  were  gradually  replaced  by  others  of  Latin 
origin.  The  bankers  in  Rome  soon  became  of  great 
importance,  and  the  old  Roman  comedies  contain 
many  allusions  to  them,  not  always,  indeed,  of 
a  complimentary  description,  although  their  pro- 
fessional honour  stood  very  high.  It  has  been 
mentioned,  as  an  indication  of  the  unpopularity 
of  Gaulish  bankers,  that  when  the  revolt  of  Ver- 
cingetorix  took  place,  the  houses  of  the  bankers 
were  first  attacked.  But  surely  another  explana- 
tion may  be  given. 

We  are  told  that  all  money  transactions  among 
the  Romans  were  carried  on  through  the  interven- 


ROMAN  BANKERS  123 

.tion  of  bankers,  and  that  they  kept  the  account 
books  of  their  customers.  But,  however  this  may 
be,  the  system  of  banking  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  very  thoroughly  developed.  When  Cicero 
sent  his  son  Marcus  to  complete  his  education  at 
Athens,  he  wrote  to  Atticus  to  inquire  if  it  would 
be  possible  to  procure  a  letter  of  credit  on  Athens, 
or  whether  it  would  be  necessary  for  Marcus  to 
carry  money  with  him.  The  later  Roman  law 
contains  numerous  provisions  relating  to  banks. 
One  is  rather  curious.  It  seems  that  if  a  banker 
failed,  those  who  had  simply  deposited  money 
with  him  "for  safety  ranked  before  those  who 
placed  sums  with  him  at  interest.  But  although 
they  have  been  the  subject  of  various  learned 
dissertations,  it  is  by  no  means  clear  how  the 
Roman  bankers  kept  their  accounts.  It  has 
been  stated  that  the  house  and  archives  of  a 
Pompeian  banker — Lucius  Ccecilius  Jucundus — 
have  been  discovered  in  that  city.  I  have  not, 
however,  seen  any  account  of  the  result. 

We  are  generally  told  in  histories  of  banking, 
as,  for  instance,  in  that  of  Gilbart,  that  the  first 
national  bank  was  that  of  Venice,  founded  in 
the  year  1157,  but  this  institution  does  not 
seem  to  have  been  at  first,  in  any  sense,  a  true 
bank.  The  state  being  deeply  involved  in  debt, 
its  creditors  were  formed  into  a  corporation,  and 


124  BANK-NOTES  AND  BANKING 

the  debts  made  transferable  like  our  consols. 
It  has  indeed  been  stated  that  in  1587  the  in- 
stitution began  to  take  money  on  deposit.  The 
fact,  however,  appears  to  be  that  it  undertook  the 
custody  of  bullion,  pledging  itself  to  keep  it  intact 
; in;, the  vaults,  and  to  return  it  to  the  depositor  at 
any  time,  or  to  transfer  the  amount  to  any  one 
else.  It  was  in  fact  a  treasury  or  storehouse 
rather  than  a  bank.  .The  earliest  real  bank 
.appears  to  have  been  that  of  Barcelona,  founded 
in  1401.  In  this  case,  the  city  funds  were  made 
responsible  for  any  moneys  entrusted  to  the 
bank,  which  not  only  received  deposits,  but  ex- 
changed money  and  discounted  bills.  The  Bank 
of  Amsterdam  was  founded  in  1609.  The  so- 
called  Bank  of  St  George,  at  Genoa,  dates  back 
to  1407,  but  does  not  appear  to  have  done 
genuine  tanking  business  until  1675.  The  Bank 
of  Stockholm  commenced  in  1668. 

Up  to  1770  there  were  very  few  banks  out 
of  London,  but  during  the  American  War  a 
large  number  were  founded.  My  own  firm  com- 
menced business  in  1772. 

EXCHEQUER  TALLIES. 

Although  banking,  in  some  form  or  other,  can, 
as  we  have  seen,  be  carried  back  to  an  early 


EXCHEQUER  TALLIES  125 

period  in  history,  and  even  in  our  own  country 
has  long  existed,  still  in  our  national  accounts 
a  very  archaic  system  was  pursued  until  quite 
recently.  It  is  indeed  scarcely  credible  that 
the  old  wooden  "  tallies "  were  only  abolished 
by  Mr  Burke's  Act,  which  was  passed  in  1782, 
but  did  not  come  into  full  effect  till  1826,  on 
the  death  of  the  last  of  the  chamberlains. 

The  tally  was  a  willow  stick,  not  exceeding 
5  feet  in  length,  about  one  inch  in  depth  and 
thickness,  with  the  four  sides  roughly  squared. 
On  one  of  the  four  sides  the  amount  was 
expressed  in  notches.  The  stick  was  then  split 
down  the  middle :  one  half,  constituting  the 
tally,  was  given  to  the  person  making  the  pay- 
ment into  the  Exchequer,  the  other  half,  the 
counter  tally,  or  counterfeit,  was  kept  in  the 
Exchequer. 

There  wras  no  single  notch  for  a  larger  sum 
than  ,£1000;  a  notch  of  the  gauged  width  of 
ii  inch  denoted  ;£iooo ;  i  inch  £ioo\  f  inch 
£10  ;  and  half  a  notch  of  this  last  size  £i  ;  of 
Y\  inch  is.,  and  the  smallest  notch  id. ;  ^d.  was 
denoted  by  a  small  pounded  hole. 

In  the  Return  on  Public  Income  and  Expendi- 
ture, 29th  July  1869,  the  following  account  is 
given  of  the  mode  in  which  these  tallies  were 
actually  issued. 


126  BANK-NOTES  AND  BANKING 

.The  slip  of  parchment,  or  teller's  bill,  as  it 
was  called,  was  thrown  down  a  pipe  into  the 
tally  court,  a  large  room  under  the  teller's 
offices,  notice  being  given  to  the  tally  officer 
by  a  clerk  calling  out  "  down  "  through  the  pipe. 
The  teller's  bill  fell  upon  the  large  table  in  the 
tally  court,  which  was  covered  with  a  chequered 
cloth.  In  the  tally  court  sat  officers  of  the 
clerk  of  the  pells,  and  of  the  auditor  as  perform- 
ing the  duties  of  the  chamberlain  of  the  Ex- 
chequer. The  teller's  bill  was  first  recorded  by 
the  officer  of  the  clerk  of  the  pells,  in  his  book 
of  introitus  or  receipt,  and  then  passed  over  to 
the  auditor's  clerk,  who  entered  it  into  a  book 
called  the  bill  of  the  day.  A  copy  of  each 
teller's  bill  was  written  by  the  auditor's  clerk 
upon  an  indented  form  of  receipt  (up  to  1826 
upon  the  wooden  tally,  the  amount  being  ex- 
pressed in  notches  only),  and  given  upon  his  ap- 
plication, generally  on  the  following  day,  to  the 
receiver  or  other  person  paying  in  the  money. 
At  the  close  of  the  day,  when  all  the  teller's 
bill  had  been  sent  down  and  entered,  the  bill 
of  the  day  was  sent  on  to  the  clerk  of  the  cash- 
book,  in  which  book  all  the  receipts  of  the  day 
were  entered. 

The   auditor's   cash  -  book   was    the    foundation 
of  all   the    accounts    of    the    receipt   of   revenue, 


EXCHEQUER  TALLIES 


weekly,  quarterly,  and  yearly 
certificates  of  which  were  trans- 
mitted from  the  Exchequer  to 
the  Treasury,  from  which  the 
annual  accounts  of  revenue  were 
prepared  and  laid  down  before 
Parliament. 

The  following  figure  (Fig.  125) 
represents  a  section  of  the  end 
of  an  Exchequer  tally  two-thirds 
natural  size,  •"  acknowledging  the 
receipt  of  ^236,  45.  3|d.  on  25th 
October  1739,  from  Edward  Iron- 
side, Esq.,  as  a  loan  to  the  king 
on  £3  per  cent,  annuities,  pay- 
able out  of  the  sinking  fund, 
on  account  of  ^"500,000  granted 
per  Act  ii  George  II.,  c. 

27- 

"  This  date  is  written  upon  the 
upper  side  of  the  tally,  where  the 
two  notches,  denoting  £200,  are 
cut.  The  lower  side,  on  which 
the  smaller  notches  are  cut,  has 
only  the  word  '  Sol '  written  upon 
it."  * 

*  Returns,  Public  Income  and  Ex- 
penditure, Part  II.,  July  1869,  p.  339. 


to 


128  BANK-NOTES  AND  BANKING 

INTEREST. 

That  the  rate  of  interest  does  not  depend  on 
the  abundance  of  gold  or  silver  was  strikingly 
shown  by  the  cases  of  California  and  Australia, 
where,  although,  in  consequence  of  their  gold 
mines,  that  metal  was  peculiarly  abundant,  the 
rate  of  interest  has  been  extremely  high. 

It  is  now  generally  admitted  that  the  rate 
depends  partly  on  the  security  of  repayment, 
and  partly  on  the  average  rate  of  profit  deriv- 
able from  the  employment  of  capital. 

The  rates  in  ancient  times  seem  to  have  been 
extraordinarily  high  according  to  our  ideas.  It 
is  stated  that  Pompey  lent  money  at  50  per  cent, 
Brutus,  and  Cato  himself,  at  48  per  cent.  The 
rate  of  interest  in  Rome,  as  elsewhere  in  ancient 
times,  was,  in  fact,  excessive.  There  was,  how- 
ever, no  legal  rate  till  the  law  of  Twelve  Tables. 
It  was  then  fixed  nominally  at  8|  per  cent. 
Subsequently,  in  the  time  of  Cicero,  it  was  raised 
to  12  per  cent,  at  which  it  continued  until  it  was 
reduced  by  Justinian,  who  made  what  seem  to 
us  the  curious  provisions  that  the  rate  should 
be  4  per  cent,  for  illustrious  persons,  6  per  cent 
for  those  engaged  in  commerce,  and  8  per  cent 
in  other  cases. 

The  high  rates  which  prevailed  so  generally  in 


THE  RATE  OF  INTEREST  129 

ancient  times  were,  to  a  great  extent,  due  to  the 
uncertainty  of  repayment,  both  from  the  unsettled 
state  of  politics,  and  from  the  unsatisfactory 
character  of  the  law.  Instead  of  endeavouring  to 
cure  the  evil  by  removing  the  cause,  legislators 
attempted  to  put  down  the  high  rates  of  interest 
by  rendering  them  illegal.  In  this  they  were 
not  only  not  successful,  but  they  produced  the 
very  opposite  effect  from  that  which  they  in- 
tended. The  result  was  to  raise,  not  to  lower,  the 
actual  rate  paid,  because  the  borrower  had  not 
only  to  pay  interest,  but  to  compensate  the  lender 
for  the  additional  risk. 

Indeed,  the  idea  that  there  is  something  wrong 
about  charging  interest  for  the  use  of  money  is 
not  the  least  remarkable,  or  disastrous,  of  the 
various  prejudices  which  have  interfered  with  the 
happiness  and  comfort  of  man.  The  supposed 
axiom  that  " pecunia  non  parit  pecuniam"  the  mis- 
application of  certain  texts  of  Scripture,  and  the 
supposed  interests  of  the  poor,  all  contributed 
to  the  same  error. 

In  Mohammedan  countries,  notwithstanding 
that  interest  is  expressly  forbidden  in  the  Koran 
—or  rather,  perhaps,  to  a  certain  extent,  in  con- 
sequence of  that  prohibition — the  ordinary  rate  is 
three  or  four  times  as  high  as  in  Europe. 

In    England   after   the   Conquest,    interest   was 

I 


130  BANK-NOTES  AND  BANKING 

expressly  prohibited,  both  by  civil  and  ecclesi- 
astical law;  and  one  curious  effect  of  this 
was  that,  as  the  Jews  were  allowed,  under 
the  Mosaic  dispensation,  to  charge  interest  to 
strangers,  the  business  of  money  -  lending  fell 
naturally  into  their  hands.  Subsequently,  a  simi- 
lar privilege  was  accorded  to  the  Italian  or 
Lombard  merchants,  from  whom,  of  course,  Lom- 
bard Street,  still  the  centre  of  banking,  derived 
its  name. 

In  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.  a  statute  was 
passed  legalising  interest  to  the  extent  of  10 
per  cent.  In  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  1571  (13 
Eliz.,  cap.  8),  an  Act  was  passed  against  usury 
and  "corrupt  chevisance  and  bargaining  by 
way  of  sale  of  wares,"  which  were  declared  to 
have  abounded,  "  to  the  importable  hurt  of  the 
Commonwealth,"  declaring  usury  to  be  forbidden 
by  the  law  of  God,  in  its  nature  sin,  and  detest- 
able. Quaintly  enough,  however,  this  was  in  the 
first  instance  limited  to  five  years,  but  subse- 
quently (39  Eliz.,  cap.  1 8)  it  was  continued,  on 
the  ground  that  it  was  found  by  experience  "  to 
be  very  necessary  and  profitable  to  the  Common- 
wealth of  this  realm." 

Under  James  I.  the  limit  was  lowered  to  8 
per  cent. ;  in  the  time  of  Queen  Anne  to  5  ; 
and  the  usury  laws  were  not  altogether  abol- 


USURY  LAWS  131 

ished  till  1839.  As  regards  Scotland,  interest 
was  altogether  illegal  until  the  Reformation. 
In  1587  it  was  legalised  up  to  10  per  cent 
This  Act  was  repealed  in  1552,  but  revived  in 
1571,  the  effect  of  rendering  interest  once  more 
illegal  having  been  to  raise  it  from  10  per  cent 
to  much  higher  rates.  Subsequently,  in  1633, 
the  legal  rate  was  reduced  to  8  per  cent.,  and 
in  1 66 1  to  6  per  cent.  In  Ireland  interest  was 
forbidden  until  1635,  when  it  was  legalised  up 
to  10  per  cent,  reduced  in  1704  to  8  per  cent., 
in  1722  to  7  per  cent.,  and  in  1732  to  6  per  cent 
The  statute  of  Anne,  above  alluded  to,  applied 
to  the  whole  kingdom.  In  1818,  a  Committee  of 
the  House  of  Commons  was  appointed  which 
reported  strongly  against  the  usury  laws ;  but 
even  then  so  strong  was  the  popular  prejudice, 
that  not  until  1839  was  it  rendered  legal  to 
charge  a  higher  rate  of  discount  than  5  per  cent 
In  France  the  legal  rate,  which  had  been  5 
per  cent.,  was  lowered  in  1766  to  4  per  cent 
According  to  the  Code  Napoleon,  6  per  cent 
was  the  highest  legal  rate  on  commercial  loans, 
and  5  per  cent  on  those  of  real  property.  In 
the  United  States,  again,  the  rate  is  fixed  by 
law,  and  varies  from  8  to  6  per  cent  in  the 
different  states.  It  is  unnecessary  to  say  that 
these  restrictions  are  quite  inoperative.  It  is 


132  BANK-NOTES  AND  BANKING 

very  remarkable  that  so  many  civilised  countries 
have  failed,  and  that  some  still  fail  to  appreciate 
the  simple  statement  of  Locke,  that  "  it  is  in 
vain  to  go  about  effectually  to  reduce  the  price 
of  interest  by  a  law ;  and  you  may  as  rationally 
hope  to  get  a  fixed  rate  upon  the  hire  of  houses 
or  ships  as  of  money." 


DERIVATION  OF  WORDS   RELATING  TO   COINS 
AND  CURRENCY. 

The  derivations  of  words  relating  to  money  and 
commerce  are  interesting  and  instructive.  "  Pecuni- 
ary'' takes  us  back  to  the  times  when  value  was 
reckoned  by  so  many  head  of  cattle.  The  word 
"  money "  is  from  moneta,  because  in  Rome  coins 
were  first  regularly  struck  in  or  near  the  temple 
of  Juno  Moneta,  which  again  was  probably 
derived  from  monere,  to  warn,  though  this  deriva- 
tion is  uncertain,  as  has  been  already  stated  (see 
ante,  p.  12).  "Coin"  is  probably  from  the  Latin 
word  cuneus,  a  die  or  stamp.  The  Latin  numrnus^. 
from  which  we  derive  our  word  "  numismatics,"  was 
the  Greek  i/o^ou  07x01,  derived  from  i/o/xo?,  "  law,"1 
and  referring  to  the  legal  character  of  the  coin. 
Many  coins  are  merely  so  called  from  their  weight,, 
as,  for  instance,  our  pound,  the  French  livre,  Italian 
lira,  the  Jewish  shekel :  others  from  the  metal,  as 


DERIVATIONS  OF  NAMES  FOR  COINS    133 

the  Roman  "  as  "  from  ces,  bronze  ;  the  "  aureus  "  ; 
the  "  rupee "  from  the  Sanscrit  "  rupya,"  silver : 
others  from  the  design,  as  the  angel,  the  testoon, 
from  teste  or  tete,  a  head  ;  others  from  the  proper 
name  of  the  monarch,  such  as  the  Louis  d'or  or 
the  Napoleon. 

The  dollar,  or  thaler,  is  short  for  the  Joachims- 
thaler,  or  money  of  the  Joachims  valley  in  Bohemia, 
where  these  coins  were  first  struck  in  the  sixteenth 
century.  Guineas  were  called  after  the  country 
from  which  the  gold  was  obtained,  and  the  "franc", 
is  an  abbreviation  of  the  inscription  "  Francorum 
Rex."  The  "  sou  "  is  from  the  Latin  solidus.  The 
word  "  shilling  "  appears  to  be  derived  from  a  root 
signifying  to  divide  ;  and  in  several  cases  the  name 
indicates  the  fraction  of  some  larger  coin,  as  the 
denarius,  halfpenny,  farthing,  cent  and  mil.  The 
pound  was  originally  not  a  coin,  but  a  weight, 
and  comes  from  the  Latin  pondus.  Our  pound 
was  originally  a  pound  of  silver,  which  was  divided 
into  240  pennies.  The  origin  of  the  word  penny 
is  uncertain.  Some  have  derived  it  from  p end o,  to 
weigh,  but  this  does  not  seem  very  satisfactory. 
Our  word  "sterling"  is  said  to  go  back  to  the 
time  of  the  Conquest,  but  the  derivation  has  been 
much  disputed.  Some  have  supposed  that  it  was 
first  attributed  to  coins  struck  at  Stirling,  but  for 
this  there  is  not,  the  slightest  evidence ;  others, 


134  BANK-NOTES  AND  BANKING 

that  the  name  was  derived  from  coins  having  a 
star  on  the  obverse ;  but  no  coins  which  could 
have  given  rise  to  such  a  name  are  known.  The 
most  probable  suggestion  is  that  it  had  reference 
to  the  Easterling,  or  North  German  merchants. 
It  first  occurs  in  a  public  record  of  the  time  of 
Henry  II.* 

The  purity  of  gold  is  usually  stated  in  carats. 
Our  standard  gold  is  described  as  22  carats, 
i.e.,  22  parts  of  gold  and  2  of  alloy  out  of  24, 
this  number  being  selected  because  the  Roman 
"solidus"  weighed  24  carats.  The  word  comes 
from  the  East,  and  originally  signified  the  beans 
of  the  locust  tree  —  called  locusts  in  the  New 
Testament,  where  we  are  told  that  John  the 
Baptist  lived  on  locusts  and  wild  honey.  The 
tree  still  retains  the  name  in  its  botanical 
appellation  of  Ceratonia.  The  beans  from  time 
immemorial  have  been  used  as  a  weight  among 
Eastern  nations,  just  as  barley  and  wheat  grains 
have  been  with  us. 

Before  the  invention  of  true  coins,,  the  Greeks 
=used  little  spikes  or  obelisks  of  metal,  whence 
the  name  u  obol "  ;  six  of  which  made  a  "  handful," 
whence  the  name  "  drachma,"  which  has  continued 
to  the  present  day. 

The  "  stater  "  was  the  "  standard." 
*Ruding,  i,  174. 


CONCLUSION  135 

Finally,  some  coins  have  been  named  from  the 
head  of  the  State,  as,  for  instance,  the  ancient 
Persian  daric,  from  dara^  a  king,  the  crown ; 
and  last,  not  least,  the  sovereign,  which  is  not 
only  the  standard  of  these  islands,  but  the  great 
financial  standard  of  commerce  of  the  world — 
long  may  it  so  remain  ! 


APPENDIX 

EXTRACT   FROM  THE   COINAGE  ACT 
(-33  VICT.,  1870,  CHAP.  10) 

<(  A  TENDER  of  payment  of  money,  if  made  in 
coins  which  have  been  issued  by  the  mint  in 
accordance  with  the  provisions  of  this  Act,  and 
have  not  been  called  in  by  any  proclamation 
made  in  pursuance  of  this  Act,  and  have  not 
been  diminished  in  weight,  by  wear  or  otherwise, 
so  as  to  be  of  less  weight  than  the  current 
weight,  that  is  to  say,  than  the  weight  (if  any) 
specified  as  the  least  current  weight  in  the  first 
schedule  to  this  Act,  or  less  than  such  weight  as 
may  be  declared  by  any  proclamation  made  in 
pursuance  of  this  Act,  shall  be  a  legal  tender : — 

In  the  case  of  gold  coins,  for  a  payment  of 
any  amount : 

In  the  case  of  silver  coins,  for  a  payment  of 
an  amount  not  exceeding  forty  shillings, 
but  for  n,o  greater  amount : 

137 


138 


APPENDIX 


In  the  case  of  the  bronze  coins,  for  a  pay- 
ment of  an  amount  not  exceeding  one 
shilling,  but  for  no  greater  amount." 


FIRST    SCHEDULE. 


Gold— 


Silver — 
Shilling 

Bronze — 
Penny 


Standard 
Weight, 
Grains. 

23.27447 

Least 
Current 
We;ght. 

122.5 

Standard 
Fineness. 

\y%  alloy  ) 

Remedy, 
Imperial 
Grains. 

.2 

87.27272 
145-83333 


1 
I 


1%  silver  \ 
ft  alloy  J 

f  Mixed  metal,! 
copper,     tin,  [•      2.91666 
and  zinc 


By  a  subsequent  Act,  passed  in  1891,  the 
<c  remedy "  for  the  silver  coinage  was  altered,  and 
that  for  the  shilling  now  stands  at  .578. 

Bank  of  England  notes  are  a  legal  tender, 
except  by  the  bank  itself;  but  the  holder  is 
entitled  to  demand  payment  in  gold  at  any  time. 


PRINTED   BY   OIJVER   AND   BOYD,    EDINBURGH. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DilK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT 

iewed°bc5sdaar!  suble^tofiSiate  recall. 


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